Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 803

Tonight's special guests are Wally and Tanya Bagot from Los Angeles, survivors and activists here to discuss their Workshop for Assault Prevention (WAP). Each is also a master in the San Soo system of self-defense, which they stress is completely applicable for everyday life, no matter the situation. Having been separately assaulted themselves during their lives, they are completely serious about the importance of learning self-protection. Wally Bagot began his extensive martial arts training with Judo classes at the tender age of seven, a self-described “scrawny kid.” Through his life he studied Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Transcendental Meditation, Tai Chi and classical Kung Fu before discovering Kung Fu San Soo. Bagot was made a master in 1997, and Tanya eventually reached the same distinction. Sunset San Soo, the Bagot's school in West Hollywood, is flourishing today. Wally says, "I love teaching more than ever." He continues, "I love the simple-is-better, always move towards the center philosophy and pragmatism of this art. After nearly 28 years, I still love everything about San Soo." Wally believes that no matter how much technique one teaches his students, it is only by helping them learn to grow genuine self-confidence that any of the rest of it matters. As his teacher Chin Lo Si Fu said to him one night at the Dragon’s Den: “You may take my life, but you'll never take my confidence.”