Author: Impower You

Healing through art & therapy! I used to be depressed and codependent with very low self worth and many unhealthy habits. But several years ago I started the healing process and am sharing what I learned with gratitude and hope for each of us. Peace & hugs, Leah
Self Defense

The 9 Best Spots to Hit an Attacker in Self Defense

Impower You

There are so many great self-defense moves to learn depending on how you are attacked. In my self-defense class I teach women and girls how to escape from choking, bear hugs, and to get out from under a man.  Of course if you can stop the attacker from every putting you into a hold this is best. Hitting the most sensitive parts of the body is just as important as learning to escape holds.

There are 9 points that I was trained to hit if I was ever attacked. These points are meant to disable an attacker by causing enough pain for you to safely move away from and if possible run away.  A perk of these points is that you don’t need to be a muscle builder to use them for self-defense. You just need the force of your body and momentum. Striking the most sensitive parts of a body requires pressure, so move forward when you strike to put all your weight into each hit!

1. Eyes – If they can’t see you it’s harder to grab you. A gouge or poke to the eyes is also extremely painful. Use both  thumbs to gouge their eyes causing them to tear up in pain.

2. Ears – Scratching and yanking down hard on an ear is immensely painful. With thousands of nerve endings in such a small space you can case a lot of pain to aid your escape.

3. Nose – Another area with lots of nerves, I was taught to use the heel of my hand to strike the nose and cause pain. If you know how to punch go ahead and do that or even try a karate chop to the nose.

4. Groin – A classic kick doesn’t need much explaining. Use your knee, punch, or even grab the testes and yank as hard as you can.

5. Knees – Since they only bend one way, a kick to the front or side of the knee can topple the attacker.

6. Solar Plexus – Just behind the stomach is a great big bundle of nerves. A punch or kick to the solar plexus will knock the breath out of an attacker. Hit with all you got and remember to move forward into your punch or kick to have a real impact.

7. Ankles – While ankles have a range of motion they are also more fragile than other joints. Slam your foot down onto an ankle or kick the ankle hard to knock the attacker off-balance.

8. Fingers – You can see on your own finger by just pushing it backwards a little that it hurts. While you may be tempted to grab all of the fingers you really just need to grab one or two. The pinky is the smallest and thus easiest to bend back.

9. Throat – A simple karate chop to the lower valley of the throat can take away the breath and cause choking. You can also jab your fingers into that spot.  This should only be used in extreme danger such as if you are being choked since it is a very sensitive area.

I became certified to teach self-defense in the summer of 2012 and have since taught just over 100 women and girls how to defend themselves in an attack.  As a survivor of assault on college campus and a child who was physically bullied in school I personally know how important it is that women and children learn to fight off an attacker.

 

Whether you are a victim of ongoing violence or have never had any problems you should learn how to defend yourself. Children especially can benefit from practicing self-defense both for safety and to feel confident in situations such as peer pressure or being lost.  We don’t just need to protect ourselves from physical danger, but verbal and emotional abuse. Domestic abuse affects everyone. 1 in 4 women are victims of domestic abuse and up to 60% of children in abusive homes suffer from violence.

I wrote a book about how women and girls can learn the warning sings of emotional and physical self-defense and the best ways to fight back in self-defense. “You Can Fight Back” is available for only 99 cents on Amazon.com. 

Get the paperback version at Bookemon.com.

Please share this information with the women and girls in our life.

Because of hate crimes LGBTQ youth should also learn.

Find a self-defense trainer at JustYellFire.org. If you are near San Diego, CA call Leah at 760-487-8567 to schedule a self-defense lesson.

Get help for domestic violence by calling 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224(TTY) or visiting TheHotline.org.

What is you favorite self-defense or martial arts move?

Empowering Discussions

Another Type of Voter Discrimination Causes Trouble for 1 in 5 Americans

Impower You

Are you a citizen of the USA, age 18 or older, free of felony convictions? Than it will be easy for you to vote right?

Back in the day, women weren’t allowed to vote and were actively discouraged from doing so until the Womens Suffrage movement finally succeeded.  Jim Crow laws made voting for African-Americans a painstaking and sometimes deadly choice. Recently there has been a slew of reports on how unfair voter ID laws have been enacted across the USA for low-income, elderly,  college students, and minorities.  But wait there’s more!

YouCanMakeDifferenceAdd to that list of disenfranchised voters the 1 in 5 Americans with disabilities.  They are discouraged from polling places either due to a lack of physical accessibility or discriminatory attitudes that create hardship for  those of us who have a disability from participating in this promised right for all citizens.

You can read the National Council on Disability report about this discouraging and unpatriotic trend faced by our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I found it on the Disability Scoop news site. In 2012 the Board of Elections in New York lost a lawsuit filed in 2010 when a federal judge ordered them to fix polling obstacles and survey polling sites.  The successful lawsuit has given hope to Americans with disabilities, even though there is more progress needed.

It is important for all citizens to have easy access to voting which means we all must speak up and insist on that right. Get involved. Change is up to you!

You can get involved in creating positive change for your neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends with the National Association of Injured & Disabled Workers.

If you are elderly (and or disabled?) check out  Senior Corps.

If you are disabled you can get involved with the Special Olympics or look at Volunteermatch.org. *Anyone can get involved with Volunteer Match.

If you are disabled and living in the UK check out the organization Citizens Advice.

Help disabled veterans by volunteering with the organization Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Find opportunities in Georgia by volunteering with Friends of Disabled Adults and Children.

In California you can help with a variety of community issues including voting accessibility by volunteering with the Disability Organizing Network

If you like this blog check out my books at Bookemon: http://www.bookemon.com/member-book-list/151519 or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007LMUEJ2

*The ads on this site are here because I haven’t paid extra money, not because I support the product or service.*

Empowering Discussions

The Best Gift for Women is the Empowerment of Learning Self Defense

Impower You

I saw it on a daily basis, women and teenage girls who walked in the door with physical bruises or weighed down by emotional scars from the hands or words of an abuser. Some were able to heal, some were not. I was working at a resource center for domestic violence and sexual assault. Despite knowing a lot about these subjects it was both an eye opening and saddening job. Thankfully many women went through counseling and were able to escape abuse, but what I realized was women need to learn how to fight not just so they can defend themselves, before they are in a situation of abuse. I learned the importance of prevention. We desperately need services like the resource center, but also  need to focus as much on teaching women not to be victims.  So in the summer of 2012 I became a certified self defense instructor.

I used to be a victim until I learned self defense. I used to be afraid until I had to fight a man off of me when I was walking across my college campus. Now and forever after I am a fighter. Victim is no longer a possibility because I know how strong I am.

Over one hundred women and girls have been brave enough to sign up for a lesson from me.  In the beginning of each class most participants hang back because they have never been taught to fight and are unsure. By the end of the class almost everyone is ready to pummel me and I love it!  We females aren’t usually taught how to fight and too many of us are discouraged from even trying.

My ask for the holiday is that you give a gift of empowerment to the women and girls in your life. You can find a local self defense class or a membership in martial arts, I recommend Akido. Learning that we deserve to fight back against physical assault encourages us to also fight against emotional and verbal attacks.

womens self defense, self defense for girls, girls fight back, women fight back, gifts for women, gifts for teenage girls

You can give my book, “You Can Fight Back: Emotional and Physical Self Defense“. If you can’t afford the book share the link with them because it can be read entirely free on Bookemon.com. The ebook is only 99 cents on Amazon.com.

To become proficient with any skill we must practice it often and remember what actions we need to take. Self Defense is no different and that is why I created a poster with a basic combo move that can be used in most situations. Hang it up at work, in the bedroom, or in the locker room to remind women that they are capable of defending themselves. You can order that poster on Zazzle.com/OviedoStyle .

This year you can give a gift that will really be worthwhile.

Empowering Discussions

Easy Advertising for Your Self Published Books Through the Holidays

Impower You

Marketing online isn’t rocket science.

You just need to share content from your website or blog that is interesting enough for others to share. Images with links are an easy advertising tool. These are a simple way to get people sharing your work. As long as the image is interesting and relevant to what you are selling than share it and ask your friends to share it too!

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I used Adobe Illustrator to make these designs to call for supporting self published authors during the holidays.  Then I shared these on Facebook on some writing groups encouraging others to share them with links to their website. Each image had a link to my books included so each time someone clicks on the original, they will see my link. Other authors can benefit from sharing the image along with links to their books.

How Have YOU Used Images to Promote Your Business?

If you like this blog check out my books at Bookemon: http://www.bookemon.com/member-book-list/151519 or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007LMUEJ2

*The ads on this site are here because I haven’t paid extra money. not because I support the product or service.*

women and age, older women, age poetry
Empowering Discussions

An Ode to Age, aka, Growing Old is Awesome!

Impower You
women and age, older women, age poetry
Pass it on!

I love growing older,
Becoming wiser and bolder.
Stepping out of my cage ,
Adventure awaits as I turn the page.
With each conscious choice,
I lovingly rejoice.
Boldly going where I’ve never been
Intelligence and experience is what I win.

Because why not love growing older? I used to believe that line about my youth being the best years of my life. In reality the older I grow the more I enjoy life. We need to refocus our social image of seniors.  Let’s go back to learning from and idealizing those who have lived past 50.  This obsession with youth is overrated and lame. So what if someone has a tight ass and big muscles? Those priorities are not what will allow our race to move forward into more enlightened ages.  If we allow it, age teaches wisdom. I won’t dye my gray hair, I won’t fret over wrinkles. I will continue to learn and evolve for myself and the next generation.

If you like this blog check out my books at Bookemon: http://www.bookemon.com/member-book-list/151519 or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007LMUEJ2

*The ads on this site are here because I haven’t paid extra money. not because I support the product or service.*

Writing

Voice 4 Society 2013 Star Search Writing Contest

Impower You

Voice 4 Society is hosting a writing contest for all ages.

The theme is Inspirational Stories for Youth.

Hurry up and start writing, the deadline is Dec 22nd.

You can enter more than one essay and it’s free to enter.  More details on the Voice 4 Society Blog.

The give away material prizes and the winner is featured on their site.

write.what.you.know

Social Action

The Guerrilla Girls Video Presentation on the Work They Have Done to Support Women in Art

Impower You

“Keep making trouble. Don’t stop speaking up and keep finding new and better ways to do it.” Guerrilla Girls.

This video is presented by the Guerrilla Girls who advocate for more representation of women and women of color throughout the world of art.  It’s not a TED talk, but it might as well be since it’s intelligent and focuses on an important social topic.

If you like this blog check out my books at Bookemon: http://www.bookemon.com/member-book-list/151519 or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007LMUEJ2

*The ads on this site are here because I haven’t paid extra money, not because I support the product or service.*

Book Reviews

“The Aquariums of Pyongyang” Book Review

Impower You

North Korea is known for its human rights abuses and communist rule. Still few make it out of North Korea alive so it’s a privilege to read the story of a concentration camp survivor in  “The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag”” as told by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulet.  Brutal and depressing yet with glimmers of hope, he recounts the horrors and devastation his family were subjected to in camp Yodok. It was a surprise to the family to be sent to camp as they were fairly well off and supported Kim Il-sung, yet were taken to camp and forced to live in unsanitary and deplorable conditions for 10 years of reprogramming.

The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag
Amazon.com

The title is taken from his first few months in the camp. While living relative freedom as a child before the camp, Kang was an avid collector of fish and had a few aquariums in his room. When they were abruptly taken away from their home the police only allowed them to take a few items from their home. At nine years old he grabbed his smallest aquarium and cried in protest until he was allowed to bring it with him. Thanks to the terrible living conditions the fish die, but were a help to him through the hard part of transitioning from a middle class lifestyle to forced labor in tempestuous weather and dirt floors. He was taken to the camp with his grandmother, father, uncles, and sister. His mother was not allowed to go with them. She was saved from the camps because her father was famous for being a hero in the eyes of the N. Korean government. Despite this she did try to be sent away to camp with her family, but was discouraged under the threat of more of her family being sent to camps as well.

After a suggestion by a friend I read this book immediately after reading about the fall of the Berlin Wall in “The Year That Changed the World” by Michael Meyer. The knowledge that while that wall eventually fell, the wall around Korea is still up and causing suffering gives me hope, but at the same time breaks my heart.

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If you like this post check out my books “More Than Just a Girl” and “Fierce” on Amazon.com and Bookemon.com.

Empowering Discussions

Burt’s Bees Stirs Up the Beast that is Street Harassment And Hollaback Fights Back.

Impower You

Words may not have physical power, but they certainly influence what is acceptable in our culture. Burt’s Bees may not have meant to start a fire with the copy on their packaging of moisturizer, but they did. The ignorantly written message reads, “Soak in the moisturizing seductiveness of shea butter and indulge in the scent of vanilla and rice milk. And let the catcalling commence.” Street harassment is a real issue that women and girls have to deal with, but just because it is so prevalent doesn’t mean we should sit back and take it as part of our society.

Colleen Kiphart brought the matter of this offensive marketing label to Hollaback! Despite a lackluster apology from Burt’s and Güd together they have started a petition for Burts to stop production and apologize for their bad choice of words. You can sign the petition at Change.org.

Colleen Kiphart says, “I deal with catcalling regularly in my neighborhood. It is uninvited, unwanted, and demeaning. I stand up for myself, but many women can’t or don’t know they can. I am frustrated to see a socially-conscious company like Burt’s Bees perpetuate the myth that women want to be objectified by strangers on the street…”

Personally, street harassment has been a part of my life since I was a teenager and caused me to live fearful for many years. Being told to “Smile” seems to be a favorite line along with “You’d be so much prettier in my car”. Slimier versions such as asking me to perform oral sex or trying to physically grope me have also been obstacles in the gauntlet of walking on a public street. Usually I simply get called a ho or a bitch if I talk back or refuse to respond culminating in a lifetime of feeling unsafe to walk down the street, whether alone or in company of other women or children.

As mad as I am about street harassment, when a company as popular as Burts Bees makes such an awful mistake it can be used as a gift. The issue gets more media attention than if it had been a lesser known brand. Now we have another chance to talk about catcalling and why it isn’t appreciated. Talking about an issue leads to taking action which leads to change.

“Burt’s Bees and Güd are perpetuating the myth that street harassment is a ‘compliment.’ We’ve received over 5,000 stories from people around the globe telling us that street harassment is scary, demeaning, and traumatizing. Last time I checked, that’s not what a ‘compliment’ feels like,” said Emily May, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hollaback!. Hollaback! breaks the silence that has perpetuated sexual violence internationally, asserts that any and all gender-based violence is unacceptable, and creates a world where we have an option—and, more importantly—a response.  Find out more at ihollaback.org.

Having some strange and usually much larger man approach me or call after me on the street is not comforting. Even though I am a self defense teacher I shouldn’t have to walk down the street with my head hung low in hopes of avoiding harassment. Our culture needs to shift away from the attitude that women are targets and toys. More men need to step up and say this is not appropriate behavior. It’s time for this to end. Catcalling is not a compliment.

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If you like this post check out my books “More Than Just a Girl” and “Fierce” on Amazon.com and Bookemon.com.

Empowering Discussions

A Note on Veterans Day 2013

Impower You

As a pacifist I don’t care to celebrate war. As the granddaughter of an amazing and intelligent man who was drafted to fight in WW2, I want citizens of the USA to be more connected to the tragedy and trials of war. Listening to his stories of the war, paying attention to the emotion in his voice and the tears that he won’t let fall are my education about war. War is human made and there are human costs.

The more we know the slower we will be to approve military actions. There are consequences not just for the returning veterans. Families of military, innocents caught in crossfire, human lives lost, destructive violence, hardened hearts, and ruined communities are all part of war. We are all connected.

Here is a link with a few references to how we are effected by war such as health, infrastructure and trauma of children. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/war/effects.aspx

Happy Veterans Day.

My brave grandfather.
My brave grandfather.