Self-Defense

At Downey's Taekwon-Do we teach practical "street wise" self-defense that has been proven to be effective in realistic encounters. We also teach Self-Defense to community groups (see information below). 

What some participants have said about our Self-Defense training:

  1. Charlene Taylor (Social Worker): “Very professionally done. Knowledge and skills acquired can be applicable to professional and personal situations”.
  2. Derrick Walsh (Housing Administration Officer): “Super excellent! I highly recommend it to anyone. Very informative.”
  3. Nora Hanlon (Housing Administration Officer): “It has been extremely helpful”  

On August 24th and August 31st 2009 Master Scott Downey and Master Cathy Downey instructed one-day self-defense workshops for 29 staff members from Newfoundland and Labrador Housing. The participants learned about the philosophy of self-defense, avoidance strategies, de-escalation and diffusion of aggression, and practical self-defense techniques from a variety of grabs and holds. Master Downey was selected by the organization because of his extensive martial arts background and his profession as a Psychologist. If you are an organization that would like to have Master Downey and Mrs. Downey conduct a self-defense workshop for your staff please call Master Downey at (709)753-4248 or E-mail him at scott.downey@nl.rogers.com Read participant comments at the bottom.

 Group #1: August 24th 2009

Group #2; August 31st 2009

 

 

Participant comments regarding the self-defense seminar

Group #1: 14 Participants: August 24 2009

  1. Cynthia Slaney (Social Worker): “Very glad to have the opportunity to take this seminar. More confident in working in the field now (i.e., home visits).
  2. Justin Crickard (Housing Administration Officer): “Great experience for first time self-defense seminar”.
  3. Herb Hoskins (Project Manager): “Excellent, but too short. It made me realize that I need more formal training and on a regular basis. Good workout. Thank you very much.”
  4. Marion Green (Housing Administration Officer): Before the seminar I had no idea how to defend myself from holds and grabs, etc… but now I know! Thank you, great training”.
  5. Heather Harding (Manager Rental Housing): “Good introduction to self-defense but I realize that I need more practice to become competent”.
  6. Ian Green (Engineering Technician): “Great course, very informative, a must for everyone!”
  7. Jason Garland (Engineering Technician): “Very informative, great atmosphere, and very knowledgeable instructors”.
  8. Ashley Murphy (Engineering Technician): “Good course, I wish it was longer”.
  9. Colleen O’Keefe (Team Leader, Engineering): “Extremely helpful. I would definitely recommend it to others”.
  10. Robin Burke (Housing Administration Officer): “A very positive learning experience and a non-threatening learning environment. Extremely helpful”
  11. Charlene Taylor (Social Worker): “Very professionally done. Knowledge and skills acquired can be applicable to professional and personal situations”.
  12. Derrick Walsh (Housing Administration Officer): “Super excellent! I highly recommend it to anyone. Very informative.”
  13. Nora Hanlon (Housing Administration Officer): “It has been extremely helpful”
  14. Wayne Follett (Housing Administration Officer): “Excellent Seminar. I’m interested enough to take some extra classes!”

  An E-mail message from Derrick Walsh (Housing Administration Officer) the day after the seminar: “Master Downey, I have to say that the self-defense seminar was very informative and the training atmosphere very comfortable. Everyone is talking about it here today and the comments are all very positive. I’m sure we will be availing of your services in the future. Yourself and Mrs. Downey work so well together. Thanks so much for showing us basic methods of self-defense. It was very enlightening to say the least.”

 

Group #2: 15 participants: August 31 2009

1.      Nadine Dalton (Housing Administration Officer): “Extremely helpful”

2.      Ed O’Keefe (Community Support Liaison Officer): “Excellent Seminar. Well taught, good instructions/demonstrations”.

3.      Mike Follett (Engineering Technician): “Extremely helpful. Good stuff”

4.      Crystal Butler (Housing Administration Officer): “Great Training, considering training on a regular basis to better myself”.

5.      Ann Marie Moores (Housing Administration Officer): “Great information. I will need to practice what I have learned”.

6.      Dean Collins (Project Manager): “Very interesting. It raised my awareness of the importance of self-defense training”.

7.      Stephen Osmond (Housing Administration Officer): “An enjoyable and informative day with excellent instruction”.

8.      Janet Rideout (Environmental Manager): “It was great fun and something that should be done on a regular basis”

9.      Rowena Bugdon (Housing Administration Officer): “Extremely helpful. Well Done”.

10.  Gary Dyke (Project manager): “It was a very helpful seminar. I will practice the moves to keep them in my memory”.

11.  Leon Organ (Engineering Technician): “Great class. I loved the hands on practice. Maybe the housing corporation should have weekly classes for its staff”.

12.  Jeanne Clarke (Housing Administration Officer): Great job. The housing corporation should encourage us to participate in your regular Taekwon-Do program by paying for 50% of the cost”.

13.  Terry Wareham (Engineering Technician): “Extremely helpful”

14.  Juanita Ivany (Housing Administration Officer): “Loved it. I would do it all over again. Extremely helpful”.

15.  Nicole Ryan (Engineering Technician): Today was very informative in learning self-defense I feel that now I can be safer when walking into an uncomfortable situation. Thank you for making it fun!”