Sunday, December 6, 2015

Free Self-Defense Class Affords Priceless Result: Self-Worth


October 28, 2015 at 12:20 PM
MAHOPAC, N.Y. - As a parent and a former teacher, I was told to always look at the strengths in your children and emphasize improving those wonderful talents and attributes that come naturally. As a community, we realize that helping our children thrive is a priority, but is that enough to support our children as they grow older and move into a world that we have less control over because of new technology, social media and media in general? The truth is we won’t always be there to help lead our youth through the difficult crossings they will face in adolescence. Despite all our efforts, our community is not without dangers. Sometimes our kids will face them alone.
That reality really hit home for me when Drug Crisis in Our Backyard partnered with Yorktown Citizens Task Force Against Heroin last July to sponsor Davide Gristina’s self-defense classes. Gristina, the owner of Krav Maga New York, which offers a self-defense training organization serving the greater Putnam, Westchester and Orange county communities, said: “We have a wonderful community, but violence is real and so are drugs. If we close our eyes thinking, ‘not in my backyard,’ we’re simply rendering ourselves vulnerable and giving ourselves only the option to succumb. If we face the reality that those dangers are real and learn the tools to face it, we have a good chance of overcoming.”
Hearing that and seeing the success in program participation from children and parents, I felt strongly that this was a model that should be brought to Mahopac. So rare are the opportunities for parents and their children to work together the way they do in Gristina’s classes. I thought, “What would a program like this have done for our son Justin? What could this do for our children now?”
Drug Crisis in Our Backyard hosted with co-sponsor, the Italian American Club of Mahopac, a free four-week series at the Italian American Club (141 Buckshollow Road, Mahopac) every Monday, Nov. 2 through Nov. 23, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Parents and children ages 8-16 are welcome and encouraged to attend one or more classes.
Gristina’s class provides a rare opportunity for parents and children to share in a unique bonding experience through which they can learn and grow together. In between wrist grabs and strikes, the program offers our youth a chance to uncover that they already are self-reliant and able to cope in the face of danger. Following each class’ warm-up and self-defense tactics, Gristina dedicates time to cultivate character development, using acting to foster the value of qualities like modesty, courtesy and assertiveness. It’s a lesson in self-discovery as much as self-defense.
It’s only natural for us as parents, teachers and community leaders to want to be the safety net that provides our youth with a constant source of reassurance. If we settle to simply become the net rather than equipping our youth with the tools they need to be the net for themselves, we only set them up for future hardship. For there will be a day when they are faced with a difficult situation and we aren’t able to be there to prevent their fall.
As a community, we need to think more about building a foundation that empowers all children and young adults to develop their own voice of reassurance that guides them to make smart choices for themselves. It’s that solid foundation that this program seeks to build by offering our youth the skills they need to overcome bullying, teasing and peer pressure.
The combined components of this self-defense class—from active role playing to self-defense tactics and character development—ultimately promote what is probably our community’s greatest collective hope for our youth: self worth.
Susan Salomone is the co-founder of Drug Crisis in Our Backyard.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

See Something - Do Something Mission


The intent of the SeeSomething-DoSomething campaign is to train people to be prepared and able to protect themselves should they ever find themselves in a threatening situation involving violent individuals.

The catalyst for the "See Something - Do Something" campaign was the news of three American off duty servicemen on a train from Amsterdam to Paris overpowering a heavily armed gunman on August 21st, 2015. "By their courage, they saved lives," French President François Hollande said, "They gave us an example of what is possible to do in these kinds of situations."

"While no sane person would wish to be in a situation like the one that three Americans found themselves in", said Davide Gristina, Krav Maga NY's Chief Instructor, "the reality is that in today's world, these kind of events are sadly more common than we would want them to be. We seek to empower our community.

For information on PERSONAL TRAINING contact Krav Maga New York via there main website at www.kmny.us

Check out this video from the recent Women's Self Defense Class:

Friday, October 30, 2015

Don't Even Think About Making This Woman Your Victim

Krav Maga New York is the area's leading self-defense expert, teaching Israeli Krav Maga - a gender neutral system of self-defense renowned for its simplicity and effectiveness. The company is offering a series of fun, safe, professional events to provide community members with a sense of safety, security, self-reliance and self-worth.

The "See Something - Do Something" programs teach individuals how to protect themselves. No one should be a victim. Future sessions will provide training in a non-violent verbal strategy to stop bullying which has become a major issue in schools around the country. Since 2004, Krav Maga New York has trained thousands of men and women and hundreds of police officers, agencies and special response teams.

"We have teamed up with Lakeview Community Church to give back to our community by equipping women with the skills to defend themselves against common attacks. A few hours on a Saturday morning may save your life", stated Krav Maga New Yorks's Davide Gristina.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Putnam Elected Official Endorses Citizen Self-Protection Classes

See Something - Do Something added 24 new photos to the album: Krav Maga Women's Self Defense Class 10-17-2015.

PRESS RELEASE:



Putnam Elected Official Endorses Citizen Self-Protection Classes

EVENT
·         FREE Community-wide Self-defense Training Class for Women by “See Something-Do Something,” presented by Krav Maga New York (KMNY) and Lakeview Community Church. This is part of an ongoing series of citizen protection classes developed by Krav Maga New York.  Davide Gristina of KMNY thanks The Lakeview Community Church for making this event possible through all of the hard work and effort of their volunteers.
 


Self-Protection Class For Women by Cindy Capitani 10/16/2015  

Davide Gristina of Krav Maga New York will lead a self-defense class for women. 

PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. – A community-wide self-defense training class for women is planned from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Carmel High School cafeteria, 30 Fair St. Themed “See Something-Do Something,” the class is presented by Krav Maga New York in cooperation with Lakeview Community Church. 

It’s part of an ongoing series of citizen protection classes developed by Krav Maga New York. Davide Gristina, owner and chief instructor of Krav Maga New York, will lead the classes. He is an official trainer for the New York Tactical Officers Association and has trained members of law enforcement. 

Robert Tendy, supervisor of the town of Putnam Valley, will attend the class to publicly endorse the program as an effective means of citizens protecting themselves to minimize danger and avoid physical harm until law enforcement intervenes. 

The class will be attended by Putnam Valley Supervisor and Putnam Valley District Attorney candidate Robert Tendy and by Peter Convery, Putnam undersheriff.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

See Something - Do Something Campaign - Episode 1


Westchester County based Krav Maga New York, trainers for New York Tactical Officers Association and Tactical Operators East, launched “If you see something, do something” campaign to teach community residents how to defend themselves. The first in a series of free community training events took place on Saturday September 17th 2015 and focused on abduction prevention.
Krav Maga New York is the area’s leading self-defense expert, teaching Israeli Krav Maga - a gender neutral system of self-defense renowned for its simplicity and effectiveness. The company has pledged to run a series of fun, safe, professional events that it believes will foster among community members a sense of safety, security, self-reliance and self-worth.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

“If You See Something, Do Something” Campaign Aims to Spur Self-Reliance

Motivated by Recent Events in France, Krav Maga New York Commits to Training Community Residents



Somers, New York – Westchester County based Krav Maga New York, trainers for New York Tactical Officers Association and Tactical Operators East, launches “If you see something, do something” campaign to teach community residents how to defend themselves.  The first in a series of free community training events will take place on Saturday September 17th 2015 and will focus on abduction prevention.   

Krav Maga New York is the area’s leading self-defense expert, teaching Israeli Krav Maga - a gender neutral system of self-defense renowned for its simplicity and effectiveness.   The company has pledged to run a series of fun, safe, professional events that it believes will foster among community members a sense of safety, security, self-reliance and self-worth.

Krav Maga New York’s September 17th event, the first of several, will be held at Somers Sport Arena and will mark the company’s commencement of its new “If you see something, do something” campaign.

On August 21st, three American off duty servicemen on a train from Amsterdam to Paris overpowered a heavily armed gunman.  "By their courage, they saved lives," French President François Hollande said, "They gave us an example of what is possible to do in these kinds of situations."

“While no sane person would wish to be in a situation like the one that three Americans found themselves in”, said Davide Gristina, Krav Maga New York’s Chief Instructor, “the reality is that in today’s world, these kind of events are sadly more common than we would want them to be.  We seek to empower our community”.

Since 2004, Krav Maga New York has trained thousands of men and women and hundreds of police officers, agencies and special response teams. 

For more information on Krav Maga New York, visit www.kmny.us