Military spouses and Family members learned to protect themselves from attackers and kidnappers during the second Woman Warrior Self Defense class, held at the USO Warrior and Family Center Aug 1.
Longtime martial arts and combatives instructor, Eric Divine, taught the free class as part of the new Woman Warrior Program offered through the USO, designed to give military spouses the knowledge and tools to protect themselves in dangerous situations.
"A lot of these ladies will travel to different parts of the country (and) overseas," Divine said. "Things are different everywhere you go; there's always some element out there that's going to be a threat or a danger. The goal here is, whenever you leave the house, to come back safe."
During the class, Divine described the indicators of an oncoming attack and why it's important for everyone to trust their instincts if they think they're being targeted.
"Violence is out there," he said. "Anything is possible. It is super important to trust your instincts. If it feels wrong, it is wrong."
The first thing students practiced was yelling "stop" and standing in a defensive position. This can scare off potential attackers and alert others, Divine said.
Next, Divine taught students how to defend themselves against wrist and arm grabs, a choke hold or a grab from behind. They also learned how to fight back with arm and elbow strikes, knee jabs and stomps.
Practicing these moves is important, Divine said, because there is no time for practicing if a real attack occurs.
"Here's where you get comfortable doing it," he said.
Anelyn Delmonte-Purivoy, a Navy spouse, brought her son, Devin, 14, and daughter, Ava, 9, to the class so they could all learn the basics of self defense.
"You hear so much in the media about violence and taking children and stuff and I wanted myself and my kids to have some tools that we can use in a real-life situation," she said, "just so that we can feel more confident on the streets."
For her, the highlight of the class was learning to develop instincts and act quickly to diffuse the situation.
"When somebody gets too close in your personal space, you can turn and run or confront them verbally before any physical altercation," she said.
Wanda Johnson, an Army National Guard spouse, took the class to gain confidence, especially since she enjoys taking walks in the evening.
"I am all about protecting myself and others," she said.
Johnson said the most interesting tip she learned was that if someone is choking you, all you have to do is hug yourself and push down with your arms.
"I think it's very good information, especially for women, even though anybody can use the class," she said.
At the end of the class, Divine put on a padded protective suit and "tested" students by acting as the attacker. He said he was impressed by his students' memory and skills -- and thankful for the protective suit.
Divine has been teaching martial arts since 1992, and currently runs Divine's Martial Arts out of Markham Elementary School. He is also an active-duty Soldier stationed at Fort Myer, where he is a fife player with 4th Battalion, Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
He hopes that by holding more classes like this one, he can foster confidence in community members to defend themselves and others.
"I want to develop a network of warriors that understands what we're doing and will be there for someone else," he said. "If we have more people that are taking self defense and are (more) aware than the bad guys and girls out there, then we're ahead of the game."
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