1. The 1Touch Project: A Pilot Study of the Efficacy of a Program to Teach Individuals Who are Blind and Visually Impaired Self-Defense
Tessa McCarthy
University of Pittsburgh
Miranda Brown and Stephen Nicholls
1Touch

2. Introduction
Traditionally, martial arts and self-defense courses are not taught in an accessible format
Self-defense courses operate under presuppositions of using vision during the practice

3. What is 1Touch?
Self-defense program created to address the specific needs of the B/VI
Teaches skills such as threat recognition, threat analysis, and appropriate response
The program employs a flexible pedagogy

4. Purpose of Pilot Study
Assess the efficacy of the program to teach individuals who are B/VI the skills that are part of a self-defense program
To assess the hypothesized psychosocial impact of the training on participants

5. Research Questions
What level of mastery do participants who complete the initial coaching certification course of the 1Touch Project achieve?
Do participants maintain the level of mastery when reviewed approximately six months later?
Do participants who complete the 1Touch Project experience a positive psychosocial impact?

6. Methods
A mixed-methodology was used to determine the acquisition of skills and the psychosocial impact experienced by participants

7. Methods - Continued
Quantitative data in the form of behavioral observation was used to assess the acquisition of skills.
Qualitative data in the form of a survey was used to assess the psychosocial impact.  
Reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review of Board (IRB) of the North Carolina Central University.

8. Participants
62 participants completed the portion focused on the acquisition of skills.
27 of the participants were blind or visually impaired.
46 surveys were completed on the psychosocial impact of the program.
33 surveys were completed by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

9. Procedure
Completed 3 day 1Touch Project Coaching Certification Course (CCC)
Trainings were held at various locations around the US
During the training, participants learned via a framework of five basic principles.

10. 5 Principles
1Touch
1Step
Contouring
Feeding
TouchStrike

11. Procedure Continued Taught using tactile-modeling Audio description
Releases and immobilization techniques
Handling minor situations to the most aggravated assault
Scenario training
Drills and exercises

12. Measures: Acquisition of Skills
A task analysis was performed on the key skills
76 steps were identified which were used as an action-based core curriculum exam.
Definitions, examples, and non-examples were developed for each of the 76 steps.

13. Measures: Acquisition of Skills Continued
Two coders were trained in how to code participants
Interrater reliability was assessed during 33.87% of the sessions to ensure the data was not affected by interobserver drift.
Rate of agreement was 95.51%.

14. Measures: Psychosocial Impact
3 surveys were administered:
prior to additional training
after completion of the initial training
at the six month exam

15. Measures: Psychosocial Impact Continued
Survey addressed aspects related to psychosocial wellbeing including:
Feelings of security
Self-confidence
Comfort level in traveling independently
Ability to take part in social opportunities
Perceived physical health

16. Design and Data Analysis: Psychosocial Impact
Descriptive statistics were run on participant responses for each question.
Promising trends were noted but not enough participants completed the survey

17. Results

18. Acquisition of Skills
Descriptive statistics indicated a high level of mastery after the initial training.
On average, participants mastered 84.75% of the 76 steps
Range of mastery from 60.53% %.
Not only did participants appear to master these skills, but participants seemed to retain the skills they had mastered.

19. Acquisition of Skills Continued
6 months after the initial training:
Average level of skill master was 89.68%
Range of 53.95% to %.

20. Acquisition of Skills Continued
11 skills were identified as being performed incorrectly by 10 or more of the 62 participants
6 months later only one skill was performed incorrectly by 10 of the 62 participants

21. Psychosocial Impact
Due to the limited number of participants, the authors were unable to determine if there was a statistically significant increase in the participants’ reported psychosocial wellbeing.

22. Psychosocial Impact Continued
Increases after training were noted with regard:
Perceived safety on a daily basis
Participants’ opinion of himself or herself
Reported self-confidence.
Reduction in the number of places in their community to which they would like to travel but didn’t because of fear.

23. Psychosocial Impact Continued
Individuals who were visually impaired but did not consider themselves blind reported an increase in the number of days they traveled independently each week.
Responses were higher for all individuals with regard to perceived strength, endurance, and flexibility.

24. Participants Comments
“I feel a lot safer now traveling than I did before taking the [1Touch program],” “ I have gained even more confidence after the [1Touch program] and part of it is due to being more aware and paying more attention to what is going on…”

25. Limitations
Despite positive trends found in the surveys of psychosocial well-being, there were not enough respondents to determine if these changes were statistically significant
Only 46 people participated in this part of the study. This makes it impossible to know if the psychosocial impact was low or if the study needed more participants to accurately observe an impact.

26. Conclusion
This pilot study provides preliminary evidence of skills which could potentially impact the population of individuals who are B/VI in such a way which could lead to increases in functional independence and quality of life.