Pretty Deadly Podcast

How do you go about defining your boundaries? In this episode, Susie and Tavia talk about where boundaries begin and where they end (not where you think!), why they're actually fluid, and how they help inform our own identities. If you're not how to identify your own boundaries or even where to begin, Susie offers some easy exercises to listen to your body and let it guide you towards the boundari...

Self-Defense In Familial Situations Women are frequently abused in our own families, and even within friend groups. Misogyny is deeply embedded in all of us. As women, we have built-in misogyny toward ourselves. How Can Women Speak Up About Domestic Abuse? We must not define someone else's violence for them; rather, we must help them understand what violence looks like. It's Hard For People To Acc...

The Difference between Self-Defense and Protection The difference between self defense and protection is disrupting something as it's happening, and stopping something before it begins. You do not need to defend yourself if nobody's attacking you. How Women Suffocate Themselves While Protecting Themselves From Violence Susie believes we do this in a variety of ways. We accomplish this by purposefu...

Women’s Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women Susie has witnessed an entire generation of change, which is an impressive development. But there is still the same degree of violence against women. There is now internet violence, which was not previously present. The Role Of Classism And Racism In Violence Against Women Women's attitude about violence hasn't changed; violence has managed to stay...

Emotional strength is the ability to respond openly and vulnerably when confronted with overwhelming emotions. It is the feeling of trusting yourself and your body and knowing that you'll have to give it your all, whatever it looks like. The Role Of Emotional Strength In Self-Defense It is crucial when it comes to self-defense. When you're in a scenario where you feel uncomfortable, assaulted, or...

Introduction Welcome to an all-new season of the Pretty Deadly Podcast. Hosted by Pretty Deadly founder Susie Kahlich and co-host Tavia Benjamin, a Kingston-based poet and the author of "Words Beyond the Page" and "The Social Entrepreneur." Description This podcast focuses on the violence that women are subjected to across the world, the different ways we protect ourselves, and teaching self-defen...

What exactly ARE your innate rights? Do you have the right to clean air? do you have the right to breathe? Do you have the right to occupy your own space? Susie and Zipporah discuss what it means to occupy your space and the simple fact of our existence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zipporah and Susie travel back in time to look at how protecting ourselves from childhood fears laid the groundwork for strategic thinking skills we use as adults. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does is feel like to KNOW you can defend yourself? Zipporah and Susie chat about the feelings of confidence and independence Pretty Deadly has given each of them, and how it's opened up their lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the price of being nice? In what ways are women encouraged to be nice as a form of control? What do we gain? What do we give up? What do we have to lose if we're not nice? Zipporah and Susie talk about the price women pay for NOT being "nice" and how we can rebalance power. Spoiler alert: Coach Z is ON FIRE in this episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susie and Zipporah talk about the need for vulnerability when learning, and why learning in all-female environments can be more productive for women and girls. Special shout out to @WriteGirl where Susie first learned this statistic, and Happy 20th Anniversary to all the fearless WriteGirl pioneers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's no secret that men and women are socialized differently, including how they learn. Susie and Zipporah explore in what ways we can share our strengths and weaknesses with each to build a better world together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Be Yourself" -- possibly the most annoying advice in this history of human advice. How do you "be yourself" exactly, and what does that look like in self defense? Zipporah and Susie talk about learning to move with power rather than precision, and how each of them adapts techniques to their own bodies in order to achieve stability and strength. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Did you know body language can communicate both ways? Susie talks about the patriarchal take on posture (head up! chest out!) and what that means for women's bodies, and Zipporah dissects the fighting stance as both protective as well as a reminder that we have tools. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zipporah shares a story about her TOTALLY BADASS SISTER who used effective situational awareness to outsmart a group of boys. Susie points out that if the boys are already creeps in their 20s, imagine how what bigger creeps they'll be in the 50s, after 30 years of practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about this problem with every trainer, and in every season of this podcast... and we think it's because it's just. so. relentless. Tune in for a fresh take on what to do with the barrage of harassment in the streets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zipporah kicks off Episode 75 with the observation that our bodies can do anything, prompting Susie to talk about her return to #Crossfit after a 5 year break, and what she likes and what she's learned about the body through the high intensity training approach of Crossfit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zipporah has found herself standing up to a bully at her local market, which felt totally empowering... so how come she also felt like she was going to have heart attack right after? Susie and Zipporah talk about biophysical responses and the subconscious processes of our intuition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the things both Zipporah and Susie love about self defense is feeling secure not just with the self defense techniques but also being able to trust that your body will come through at the time you need it most. They each talk about what that means for them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zipporah and Susie discover that they've been having the same experiences when they tell certain men they teach self defense: they're challenged to a fight! What is that all about, and how do you get out of it safely? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zipporah explains that in her community in Entebbe, she's often asked "why": why do you want to train and teach self defense? She's not sure how to handle the peer pressure she experiences, but Susie has some ideas. She explains that we learn self defense for the same reason we learn to drive a car. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"If it was something only a male body could do, then I wouldn't be able to do it." Zipporah and Susie talk about the things they were told they couldn't do because they are women... and how they do it anyway. Bonus: Susie gives some tips on how to handle mansplaining at the gym. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a new season of the Pretty Deadly Podcast! In this season, we're chatting with our coach Zipporah Kuteesa. Zipporah and I are exploring self defense in her native Uganda, talking about the different challenges women face, and what strengths we might have in common. This episode is all about how the things perceived as weak in women are actually our strengths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

What does social distancing and situational awareness have in common? Defending your distance during a pandemic is something we've all been exploring for the past year, but what happens when some people see it as an opportunity to be a creep, rather than a reason to stay safe? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you know what to do if you meet a wild polar bear in Alaska? What about a wild boar in Berlin? Turns out that the combined survival knowledge of our four hosts covers an entire zoo... including what to do if attacked by the neighbor's dog. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.