SELF DEFENCE ESSENTIALS WITH GARY SMALL

• Date: 11TH JULY
• Time: 2:00PM – 4:00PM
• Cost: £48
• Location: Yoga Reading

This workshop gives you practical, real-world self-defence tools — no experience necessary.

Through movement drills, partner work, and honest conversation, you’ll build physical skills, sharpen your awareness, and leave feeling stronger, more confident, and more at ease in your own body. Suitable for everyone.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Part One: Foundations & Conditioning

We start by settling into the space and each other. After a dynamic warm-up — think jogging, arm circles, squats and lunges — you’ll learn two fundamental strikes: the jab-and-cross combination and the hammer strike, practised with attention to stance, body weight and control.

A short circuit and partner pad work builds your endurance and gets you out of your head and into your body. We close the first hour with an honest conversation about what self-defence actually feels like — the adrenaline, the fear, and how repetition builds real confidence.

Part Two: Application & Group Work

The second hour brings everything to life. We explore common real-world scenarios — wrist grabs, hair pulls, chokes — alongside verbal and body language tools for deterring threats before they escalate. You’ll practise escape techniques, refine your strikes with a partner, and work on quick, controlled reactions.

There’s also dedicated time for open sharing: a supported space to voice concerns, ask questions, and connect with others in the group. We close with a gentle warm-down, breathing exercises, and a motivational recap.

YOU’LL COME AWAY WITH

• Simple, effective techniques you can remember and use
• A clearer understanding of awareness and prevention
• Greater confidence and assertiveness in your body
• A supportive network of people who’ve trained alongside you

ABOUT GARY SMALL

Gary has been training and competing in Martial Arts for over 30 years, bringing a depth of knowledge and lived experience that is rare to find in a single room.

For more than 20 years he has studied, assisted and continued to practise Lau Family Hung Gar — a traditional Southern Chinese kung fu style — under the guidance of Sifu Wayne Husbands. Alongside his martial arts practice, Gary has spent years working as a mentor and key worker supporting children aged 10 and upwards, and young adults between 14 and 25 — making him as skilled at holding space as he is at holding his own.

Gary teaches with patience, precision, and a genuine commitment to helping people feel capable in their own bodies.