Model Mugging

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Model Mugging or Impact is a form of self-defense training that aims to better prepare women (and, less frequently, men) for real-life attack situations.

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[edit] History

The program was founded by Matt Thomas and later developed by Danielle Smith with Julio Toribio as well as Sheryl Doran and Mark Morris.

Its inspiration was the 1971 rape and beating of a karate black belt in Palo Alto. Several of her peers began to reasearch ways to better prepare people to withstand, physically and emotionally, violent attacks. They used a holistic approach, interviewing survivors and perpetrators, experts in the fields of education, psychology, sociology, martial arts and physiology, and through the examination of police records.[1]

In 1985 Bay Area Model Mugging (BAMM) became the first incorporated organization to teach the Model Mugging techniques. They are now taught by a variety of organizations, both profit and non-profit, primarily in the United States and Europe.

The name of the style was changed from "model mugging" to "Impact" in 1989.

[edit] Techniques and training

Model mugging training involves students role-playing and sometimes fighting through a variety of assault scenarios. Students are taught physical defenses, methods of avoiding or defusing potential assaults, verbal defenses, and decision-making under the pressure of such situations.

During the simulated assaults, heavily padded instructors, often referred to as muggers, accost, grab, or directly attack a student, who may respond (if they believe a physical response is appropriate for the situation) with full-force attacks to the padded instructor. The emotionally charged nature of the scenarios combined with the full-force nature of the fighting tend to create an adrenalized state similar to that of someone facing a real assault. The adrenalized nature of the training is intended to teach the student how to think clearly and respond in adrenalized situations.

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[edit] External links

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