Model Mugging?

I'm currently looking into "career" options that speak to doing work that I think is important and necessary. In previous posts I've already mentioned the desire to investigate groups like "IMPACT Bay Area" and similar organizations. One such group is Model Mugging. MM has a history of teaching "full-force" self-defense training to women since the 1970's. I just recently emailed them asking about how I might get involved with becoming instructor-certified in their system. There's a chapter in the San Francisco Bay Area which was encouraging to find. However, now I'm having some doubts about this organization. As I was doing some reading about MM online, I came across this paper, written back in 1993 which basically details some critiques of the organization and revealed some history of the group that was quite shocking. For one, the founder of MM, Matt Thomas was accused of sexually harassing and even groping certain female students. For a group that emphasizes self-empowerment for women and works to prevent rape and other such assaults, this is just downright inappropriate and wrong. I'm doubting now whether or not these types of groups are actually effective at what they do or if it's all hyperbole. I'm interested in their methods because it seems similar to what Iain Abernethy advocates for with karate training, something he terms "kata based sparring" with "non-compliant" partners. This very much resembles the training methods of a group like MM (and IMPACT) where the male instructor dons safety gear so that the female students can actually kick and hit him "full force" while he simulates an attack on them. I'm still in the investigative stages of all of this. Groups like IMPACT were formed as break-away organizations from MM. There are other groups that are of interest as well (Kid Power being one). It is my belief now that the field of Personal Safety needs to be incorporated fully with karate training. I think it is an evolutionary step into what the Okinawan masters of this art before us were hoping to get across to future generations. While karate needs to evolve with the times if it is to stay relevant for future generations, I don't think that means it needs to be "popularized" in tournaments and other such venues (karate doesn't need to become an Olympic sport). Who knows, I could be wrong about what I believe now. I thought I knew some of the history of Okinawan karate in my first 4-5 years of training. It wasn't until I spent some time in Detroit that I realized I knew very little facts (I knew the lies masquerading as facts). And because the karate of Okinawa has such a complex history, I am sure that my thinking will continue to change as I read more about this art. In the meantime, I'm just hoping to find my soul work. Maybe it isn't with the groups that I thought. Or maybe that group doesn't exist yet? We'll see.

Elbow SMASH.
- Hiji Até