It’s been almost exactly one year since I posted the below and sadly, not much has changed. We are still seeing high-profile attacks against Asian Americans, and we are still seeing gaps in effective self-defense that takes into account the unique social and cultural experience of Asian Americans. I’ve started putting more work specifically into …
I just spent my fifth weekend with Immediate Action Combatives, assisting once again with Cecil Burch’s basic combatives for self-defense curriculum. I’ve talked about the class on OHO before, and continue to believe it’s an excellent introduction to the physical skills that can help keep you alive and allow you to fight back against an …
How are you all doing? I’m tired, folks. There’s been a lot going on in the world these last couple of days, weeks, months, and years. All of us have been affected on every level, from individual to global, with some events affecting only us and some events affecting more of the world. Many of …
Part of the conversation I had with Lee Weems last week on his podcast made me think about how context and experience are such strong factors in shaping our perceptions. Where we come from naturally has a lot of influence on how we see the world. Our background is what makes us who we are, …
A few months ago, I pondered with you the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, and how it turns out so many of them aren’t or don’t have to be true after all. Identifying them is one thing, but changing them is another thing entirely. Nevertheless, it can be important – even vital …
Yesterday, On Her Own turned two years old. I’m honored and delighted that you’re with me on this journey, whether you’ve been here since the very beginning or you’ve come on board more recently. Some of my posts have reached only a few hundred of you and others, tens of thousands of you. I’m told …
Last weekend, Christina Yuna Lee was followed into the building where she lived, into her apartment, where she was killed with a knife from her own kitchen. She’d gone to the same college I had, half a dozen years after me. Last month, Michelle Alyssa Go was pushed into the path of an oncoming train. …
It’s Valentine’s Day, traditionally a day of celebrating romantic love and coupledom. That makes it a tough day for some of us, who aren’t spending it with a partner for any of a number of reasons. So instead, or in addition, I’d like to think about and celebrate other loves in our lives. The ancient …
One of the most common pieces of home safety advice is to not tell anybody when you will be out of town, because then they will know when your home is empty and easier to steal from. It makes a lot of intuitive and logical sense. After all, nobody wants to work harder than they …
On Her Own is very much about self-protection and the universal pursuit of safety and security, whatever that means to an individual. I believe strongly that we women have the agency and ability to defend ourselves. We might need support believing that we are worthy of protection in our most secret thoughts, and we will …
How to give and receive unsolicited self-defense advice Read More »
