As I met Sifu Della back in 2017 on a music video shoot for our mutual friend, Shaodow, it was always on the cards to work together. I was so impressed with Della's skills as a martial artist. I have since seen just how much she does for the community, especially with Fight Like A Girl UK.
It was such an honour to finally collaborate with her at our workshop in Wolverhampton on Sunday 10 October with the help of Nick from Aiki Budo Alliance for organising this and Derek James from The Rewind Group for capturing the day. As someone who for the past 16 years, has always promoted self defence as a necessity, especially during recent events surrounding women's safety, it was truly amazing to see the attendees empowered with new skills, attributes and sense of awareness. There was such a positive energy as the attendees were so supportive of one another. Seeing Della teach first hand was awe-inspiring as I watched each woman's confidence grow as they learned and applied each principle that was taught. I very much admire the courage in everyone who attended and am exceptionally proud of them all, especially from the shocking reported statistics regarding why women learning a form self defence is absolutely a necessity.
In addition to this, I was also able to see one of Della's instructors, Joe Parker, guide the women and coaching them on the techniques with enthusiasm and expertise. He was fantastic; he is an absolute a credit to Della's teaching and certainly someone I am looking forward to be working alongside to support this cause.
This is just the beginning. The onus should not be on women, but until things change, I will continue to commit and lend my support wherever, whenever and however I can. FLAG UK is an incredibly a powerful and important movement and I encourage as many women as possible to partake as we plan our next workshops around the UK.
As someone who has been there and done it, Sifu Della O'Sullivan is someone whose hands you will be safe in.
I look forward to many more FLAG UK workshops and hope to see you there!
Jon