Pretty Deadly Podcast

The first rule of self defense is to run, but what if you're already home? Susie & Kate talk about intruders and home invasion, how to use normal household items as self-defense, and having tools for different scenarios from a pushy delivery man to an unwanted house guest to finding a stranger in your home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is self defense punk? Not everyone knows about Susie’s early days in New York as a young punk rocker working at CBGBs. Kate is interested in whether Susie’s love of punk rock as it is related to protecting marginalized people, living on the fringe, and political action underlies her motivation to get a black belt and teach self-defense. Punk is about questioning the status quo, challenging authori...

When it comes to self defense, how much training do we really need? Do we learn the moves once and we are done like plugging our brains in The Matrix? Susie talks about what it means to prepare and train in self-defense, the difference between practice and preparation, and the meaning of acceptance. By practicing scenarios we can be mentally and physically prepared in the event that we are faced w...

Can we ever really get over trauma? This episode is about how, while we might never truly recover in the sense that it is gone, trauma does become part of our story. Kate asks what happens when new traumas trigger our memories of older trauma? Susie talks about how physical training can help with staying present and staying in the moment can help us move forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

Can a kiss be a sexual assault? Kate tells Susie about a guy on a train who, just as quarantine was lifted in Berlin, randomly kissed her on the forehead. Kate describes the bodily experience of being violated, also the triggers that might correlate to earlier traumas. Susie describes the “similar instance” versus “triggers" and provides some strategies for the moments after, and recovering from t...

Kate asks Susie whether there are ways to be an active ally and a safe interventionist to help others who are, or about to become, victimized by harassment or a physical attack. Susie gives concrete examples and offers some creative ways to help others who are being targeted by street harassment, domestic assault, sexual assault, racially motivated attacks, and even physical violence. Hosted on Ac...

Kate and Susie talk about the limitations of government protest and the law in protecting women’s bodies and women’s rights. Susie explains how teaching self-defense is a political act, taking movements beyond the streets, and in the way of empowering women in their own bodies. She shares a story about marching on Washington in defense of Roe v. Wade the first time it was about to get overturned b...

Runners are a known and obvious target for attackers. Why are women more vulnerable when running and what can we do to protect ourselves. In some ways, runners are an obvious target because we are alone, we might be more distracted. What can we do to be more aware to minimize the chances of being attacked? When we don’t have the option of running during the day, or running with a partner, Susie of...

How important is nutrition and self-defense? How does listening to our bodies correspond to how we feed ourselves as well as how we defend ourselves? In this episode, Susie talks about intuitive eating, listening to our bodies, and nutrition as self-care. Susie explains how listening to our bodies, understanding cravings, is a physical way to be true our own needs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

Strategic thinking, Consciousness, mindfulness, embodiment, being in your body, learning to relax, moving slowly, being present. Patience, applying her martial art, was already part of who she was, but it gave form to who she was. It gave her a channel to be more of herself. Getting deeper understanding of physics, body dynamic ways, in a physical and also esoteric way. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

Susie talks about her experience of getting a black belt, what the training schedule was like, how long it took, what the testing was like, and what an honor it was to test for her first black belt. She also talks about what a black belt really means as far as understanding of the techniques, how your body moves, and the spirit during the testing process. According to Susie and her teachings, havi...

What is the importance of self confidence in self-defense, and what can I teach you? Susie talks about how to have self confidence by, knowing how your body works. When we break big ideas down into smaller everyday examples, we build confidence in our self-defense abilities, but also in ourselves in general. Susie talks about appreciating our bodies, our vulnerabilities, and how to value the many...

Kate asks Susie about the Bystander Effect, recounting the urban legend she remembers about a woman who was murdered in a New York City hallway and though many heard her screams, no one rushed to help or called 911. Susie challenges the veracity of this tale, but also offers a new perspective on why this kind of thinking actually puts women and other vulnerable populations at a greater risk. Susie...

Kate and Susie talk about the importance of learning orientation and self- trust in self-defense and in life, and how self-defense is not a fight or about injuring someone else (although you could consider injuring an attacker a bonus). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susie explains how you can use smaller size to your advantage and what she saw in a self defense class in Los Angeles that gave her this insight. Kate wonders why more people don't learn self defense, and Susie talks about believing whether it will really work or not. If you think learning self defense is futile because you are too old, too big, too small, too weak or too restricted, this episode...

Kate asks Susie to describe 3 “Need to Know” moves or what the top moves are for someone wanting to learn self-defense. Susie shuts down the misconception that there are any “need to know” moves. Whether you are being attacked from the front or the side, you have been restrained, or you are being lunged at, Susie describes how to create space and use your body effectively with the limbs and levera...

We're back! Welcome to Season 2 of the Pretty Deadly Podcast! Susie’s prototype for the Pretty Deadly course came after realizing that her mother was scared of leaving her home in her increasingly dangerous neighborhood in Chicago. She taught her mother, who was then in her sixties, some basic moves and that is where she began developing self -defense for “ordinary women” using everyday movements...

Susie’s work in Berlin has also included self-defense programs for refugees. Many women who are living in shelters are forced into certain living situations that make them vulnerable to unwanted touching, harassment, and even violence. Susie’s program for refugees focuses on creating space, dealing with cultural sensitivities, as well as giving her students practical tools to protect themselves in...

Sexual abuse involving the perpetrator uses drugs and alcohol as an excuse for abuse or violence are well documented. This episode is more about how boundaries get fuzzy and vague for women who use drugs and alcohol, especially in environments like raves, music festivals, or something like Burning Man. Susie talks about the role of drugs and alcohol in self-defense, how to better protect ourselves...

Whether we are teaching our 3-year-olds about boundaries and creating space or sending our daughters to college where they will have more independence (but lack experience), there are a lot of lessons in self-defense. Kate and Susie talk about the power of belonging and the power of exclusion and how this can hurt young women. This episode explores how to talk to our daughters about asserting them...

What is the difference between being responsible for ourselves and making it our job to prevent an attack? The idea that we should have to make different choices or live our lives differently than men can be frustrating, and yet, as women, we have to uphold a heightened awareness when we are in certain public spaces, or when alcohol is being consumed, on a dark street, or alone in a public bathroo...

Since the advance of the #MeToo movement, there has been more attention and awareness around harassment and the reality that women are often the victims of male microaggressions. This includes more innocuous behavior like “manspreading” but other more aggressive ways that women lose space and power when out in the world. In this episode, Susie talks about creating space both physically and psychol...

Kate shares about her own experience with sexual trauma and the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that can accompany violence and the grieving process. Susie explains how feelings like you can’t trust yourself or that you let yourself down can weigh you down after trauma, but self-defense can help address those issues. She also talks about how addressing our fears sort of physically and he...

Susie’s screams alerted her neighbors in the event of her attack and disrupted the violence. Is making noise a good form of self-defense? Is it always appropriate? Susie tells Kate about the benefits of noise to prevent or disrupt an attack and also talks about technology like panic buttons and apps. Is it reasonable to think we can wait for emergency services to protect us? Again, Susie returns t...

We sometimes hear that you should give in to the demands of an attacker, especially if they have a weapon, but is this the best advice? If you have the ability to run- should you? And what about that “run in a zig zag” theory to escape flying bullets-- does it really work? Quoting "The Gift of Fear" author Gavin de Becker, Susie breaks down misconceptions about whether to comply with attacker dema...