KEAGAN MITCHELL
Cape Town - Are you ready to defend yourself?
Former karate world champion and 2nd-dan karate instructor Natascha Bracale’s passion for protecting people has given rise to the Para Bellum Protocol.
Derived from the Latin phrase “Si vis pacem Para Bellum”, which means “if you want peace, prepare for war”, the protocol teaches you how to protect yourself in life-or-death situations.
This will help you increase your awareness and confidence, trust your gut and learn to avoid dangerous situations and conditioning for the physical and psychological impact of violence.
Bracale said it is important to understand the phrase in its entirety.
“It’s not just about war/fighting, it’s about preparing yourself in case you need to act and to enable you to ultimately live a more peaceful life. It’s your insurance. Rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
“It’s not a martial art or a specific style. It’s deliberate, effective techniques that are target-focused and we concentrate on causing injury to the human body by shutting down either a sensory system or breaking a structure.
“They (those who join her course) will learn trusted techniques and principles that can be applied to any person in any situation. It doesn’t matter what gender or age you are, if you are big or small or even if you’re already a professional fighter,” she said.
The qualified bodyguard (high-risk close protection), who has looked after the likes of British model Kate Moss and Hollywood stars Charlize Theron and Sean Penn, said violence is part of society but never before have we needed this type of training.
“We have made the potentially fatal mistake of making it a taboo subject. Nobody wants to talk about it nor see it and they live their lives in fear of what may happen, yet with blinkers on, just hoping it won’t happen to them. Massive cognitive dissonance. Hope is a risky business when it comes to violence.
“You teach your kids how to swim, why? So they don’t drown. If you didn’t teach them how to swim, you would just hope they don’t drown. That does not work does it? Doesn’t work for life-threatening situations either.
“Nobody wants to take that risk. It’s a life skill you simply cannot afford to go without. So why not prepare yourself in the same manner and learn how to save your own life,” she said.
The methods and principles were developed by Tim Larkin, a former member of the Office of Naval Intelligence in the US and world leader in lethal force training for 30 years. Bracale is incorporating his principles into her course.
“It has been taught to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to military and civilians in over 52 countries. I am the only person teaching his methods right now in SA and I also intend on going to Nevada, US, next year for a month for training directly under him.
“I want to give those that train with me a fair chance of getting home safely to their loved ones. Realistically, against an especially violent predator, with no training, you have a 90/10 chance of surviving. The best you will get is a 50/50 chance.
“No martial art or style can guarantee you a 100% chance of walking away,” added Bracale.
Founder and editor of Natural Medicine World Online Magazine, Daleen Totten, said: “I understand the difference between a self-defence and a self-protection course. I need a self-protection course and this is it. Tasha is my personal trainer and I know I am in excellent hands to learn how to protect myself with confidence.
“I want to be able to cause injury and not just protect myself. I may be able to protect myself, but it is far better to learn how to cause injury and disable your attacker than having to keep protecting yourself. Causing injury is protecting yourself from further injury or worse,” she said.
Chief executive of Pull North Yachting, Marli Schoonraad, said: “I signed up as I have been in situations while travelling by myself before and I could have been more prepared, but you never think of this before it might be too late. And it’s not that I wasn’t aware, it was just an unfortunate situation.”