Urban Awareness, Self-Defense Workshop

For more information, to find out about upcoming classes, or arrange a class for your group, call (505) 814-4128 or email david@triaddense.com.

The Urban Awareness, Self-Defense Workshop (UASDW) is intended for the individual who does not have the time to dedicate themselves to years of martial arts training in order to learn self-defense. Not only will the student of UASDW develop the skills based on Startle Response Self-Defense principles, but he or she will learn the ABCs of profound urban environmental awareness principles through the study of actual violent crimes. As taught by Sifu David Brown, the workshop captures the essence of his martial arts expertise and law enforcement background.

• Why UASDW?
• The Foundation
• The Who, Where and When of It All

Why UASDW?

This reality-based workshop teaches techniques and principles of environmental awareness that help to eliminate concerns about your personal security and safety in the every-day surroundings of the modern world.  Practical, no-nonsense self-defense techniques are taught as life-saving measures. Participants learn physical responses, such as strikes and hold escapes, which utilize large motor-skill movements – movements derived from startle-response reflexes that every human being possesses. These principles of response were initially identified by evaluating the innate physical reactions of victims, perpetrators and witnesses of violent crimes.  The study, conducted by Sifu David Brown over the course of his career as a law enforcement officer and member of the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, resulted in the identification of defensive and offensive responses that occur spontaneously during virtually every physical encounter.  These instinctive fight-or-flight responses have been harnessed to provide you with the basic foundations of a practical, no nonsense system of self defense.

The techniques taught at the UASDW build on the aforementioned startle responses and include simple principles such as use of body weight and learning about vital target areas. The techniques are presented in a manner that allows for rapid internalization by the student, thus becoming an enhanced automatic motor-response within a short period of time.  These principles and techniques are as easy to learn and practice for the average person as they are for the experienced athlete. Men and women will realize quick results.



In the UASDW, you will be taught to recognize and understand, "personal risk zones" as they occur in your daily life.  We will accomplish this by reviewing documented, highly publicized cases of violence that have resulted in the potential victim successfully repelling or avoiding confrontation, as well as cases in which victims have been injured, abducted or murdered. These real-life scenarios serve as a learning opportunity, allowing you to differentiate between doing the right thing and making a fatal mistake for yourself and family.

In the UASDW, you will learn three distinct levels of mental awareness, which may be immediately incorporated into your daily life.  You will also better understand your own personal strengths and weaknesses – both mental and physical.  Sifu Brown will guide you through the process of learning to "trust your intuition" when it comes to identifying both safe zones and high-risk areas. You will come to understand the basic mindset of the career criminal as well as his motivations and typical methods of operation. The primary goal of this workshop is to provide you with the mental awareness that will create your first line of defense and the physical skills that will serve as your first line of offense.  You will also learn the proper use and carry of pepper spray as well as the pros and cons of edged weapons and practical advice on the use of firearms.  We will review applicable New Mexico laws in order to further assist you in developing your personal survival skills.

The Foundation

The Urban Awareness, Self-Defense Workshop has evolved from Sifu David Brown's extensive martial arts training, his thorough understanding of biomechanics as a personal trainer and his career experience as a law enforcement officer and detective in the Albuquerque and New Mexico area.  Training since 1971, Sifu Brown currently holds the rank of 8th degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and the standing of Master in Si Feng Wu Kung Fu.  A law enforcement officer since 1986, Sifu Brown specialized in the investigation of various types of violent crimes, undercover narcotics investigations and fugitive apprehension.

During his 14-year tenure as a homicide detective, he spent two years as a member of the University of New Mexico sponsored Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT).  At that time, the CFRT was a research project that reviewed mortality cases and conducted forensic evaluations of the deaths of victims from infancy to their early twenties.  As a detective, Sifu Brown served on four panels: Child abuse, Homicide, Accidental Death and SIDS.

Sifu Brown's involvement in the review of numerous cases through the CFRT, his actual investigation of hundreds of cases as a violent crimes/homicide detective, his undercover narcotics work, his work as a New Mexico Probation Parole Officer assigned to the Security Threat Intelligence Unit Fugitive Apprehension Unit, his experience as a New Mexico State-certified law enforcement defensive tactics instructor and his extensive martial arts training have provided him with tremendous insight into human behavior and the dynamics of conflict.

The Who, Where and When of It All

This eight-hour program is ideal for the client whose training time is limited.  The seminar may be taught in either a single eight-hour session or may be broken up into four two-hour classes taught on four consecutive weekends. The Urban Awareness, Self-Defense Workshop can also be specifically tailored to the needs of any corporate schedule.  This training is a must for those who travel or whose daily business or hobbies expose them to a variety of potentially high-risk environments (e.g., business owners, salesmen visiting client residences, home healthcare providers or anyone staying in a hotel or engaged in urban commuting or travel). Due to graphic case reviews and mature subject matter, we recommend a minimum age of 16 for participating in this program. Participation of children younger than 16 years of age may be considered based on parental discretion, accompaniment by a parent, and or instructor approval.

Your degree of participation in the physical aspect of the seminar is entirely up to you and your level of fitness and ability. Although you need not be in top shape to perform the techniques taught in the workshop, it is important that you understand that there will be some physical contact and you will experience a minimum level of stress in learning and practicing the curriculum. The final 1.5 hours of the course will entail practice in the use of pepper spray. For the hands-on portions of the class, please be sure to wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and athletic shoes.

This workshop has been endorsed by The Solutions Group, an employee assistance company, and New Mexico AIDS Services.  This program is offered at the Four Winds Martial Arts Academy and may also be taught at your place of business as it is extremely practical for the work setting.

Classes are offered regularly for individuals. Group workshops can be scheduled to suit client needs.  To request corporate rates, to schedule a workshop for your employees or to sign up for a scheduled workshop, please call us at (505) 814-4128 or send an e-mail David@TriadDefense.com. Class size is limited.