Class shows how to injure, escape attack

At Thanksgiving my grandmother told a scary story that ended with a woman alive because of a self-defense class. My daughter Carlisle and I decided to find one of these courses.

Redlands has one, and we took it Saturday. It was organized by Fifth Degree Master Alex Paredes, who works for the Redlands Police Department and also teaches the Street Smart program Fridays at the Community Center.

Saturday's class cost $10 and was only for women. There were 62 openings, and 62 women there.

Let me get this said right now. Find 10 bucks and sign up today for the April course. Wow.

We started at 9 a.m. on the bleachers of Terrier Gym. RPD Detective Stan McCauley told us predators look for an easy target.

Don't be prey. Do these things:

Get a home alarm. "It's worth it."

Keep windows and doors closed, even on hot nights. "It's the biggest thing you can do."

Know your neighbors. That's how 90 percent of the burglars are caught in Redlands - neighbors notice something amiss.

Look confident. Make eye contact when you walk. Be prepared to cause a scene.

"I can pick the easy victims out of this crowd right now," said teacher George Fullerton. "It's body language."

Avoid going to a secondary crime scene. Victims taken away generally do not survive. If someone tries to take you, put up a fight. There's a good chance you'll survive; once

Fullerton, who was long ago Paredes' Street Smart teacher, had this advice: Run.

"If they shoot you, there's a 90percent chance they'll miss," he said.

Next, we were told to remove jewelry and purses. Carlisle and I had talked about how to dress. I figured I should wear heels, with large rings and a necklace. When you get attacked, you haven't dressed for the occasion, right?

Let's be honest, the odds of my being surprised in workout clothes are nonexistent. We compromised with jeans and flip-flops, no jewelry.

We were divided into groups and sent to stations. I started with How to Get Unpinned from the Ground.

I learned the predator's method is to identify a victim, subdue her, exhaust her and then commit assault.

From under an assailant, the fight can't be about size, strength or speed. The teacher sat on an assistant - a 19-year-old girl - and told her to fight him off.

It was no use. She just got tired.

Then he showed how easy it was to get away, and she freed herself quickly.

You simultaneously hook your left foot around his, cuff his left wrist with your right hand and press it to your chest, and hold his elbow with your left hand like a drinking glass. Thrust your pelvis up and flip him to the left onto his back. Knee his jewels and run.

Our turn.

Here, I was thinking, these women are strangers. We're going to be physically intimate right now, and I'm uncomfortable.

It wasn't so bad. I was concentrating more on remembering the steps. I kept forgetting to trap my assailant's foot.

It's like taking two side legs off a table. The attacker can't brace himself against your rolling him over.

When it was my turn to be the attacker, my partner made for my wrist and I pulled it away to punch her in the jaw, because I was in character.

Teacher, question!

The teacher had me sit on him. He said the goal is to get the attacker's hands pressed to your upper chest. If he moves them to punch you, start to sit up. He did this and I tried to push him back, which put my wrists right where he needed them.

Speaking of punching, if you're under him and he moves to punch you, give him a bear hug. Slither up and glue your face to his chest. Hold on with one arm, use the other to pin his arm to you while you hook your foot around his and flip him that direction. Then knee and run.

My next station was How to Hurt Him Quickly and Get Away.

The key is to strike a vital spot - the eyes, ears, throat and groin.

If he's in your face, get him in the temple with your elbow. Put your right foot back (if you're right-handed) for more power. Also, grunt.

The instructor pointed out how tennis players say "Huh!" when they serve. It adds strength. For defense, it draws attention and intimidates.

If there's some room, pull his head down to you and knee his groin.

Whenever possible, claw his face from the eyes downward.

If he grabs your hair from behind, elbow him.

If he grabs you around the waist, slam your hands over his ears or strike anywhere on his throat. In fact, these are effective moves to use whenever you've got the opening. They will give you time to get away.

The teacher advised us to plunge our thumbs into attackers' eyes by the nose and scoop outward. Yuck.

"He can't chase you without eyes, and he'll be easy for the police to identify," he said.

Still, yuck.

"Don't be afraid to hurt him permanently. It will mean he can't hurt others," the teacher said.

Bite, but only if you feel your life is in danger.

Preventively, back up when people get in your space, and don't let them touch you.

During this lesson, one of the instructors would tap a woman and have her go into the hall. Once there, he scolded them for going away with him.

"I could have taken you to a secondary site," he said.

I glanced over to see how my daughter was doing at her station, and saw my friend Mary Anne Forrest kneeing a mannequin with conviction. She looked totally tough, and I took a moment to admire her.

My group was elbow striking pads. I did it once and the whole side of my body hurt.

At break I asked Carlisle how she was doing.

"The instructor called me vicious," she said. I am completely pleased.

My third station was How to Kick.

I learned it's good to be in fighting stance at a hint of danger. You put your right foot back and bend your knees some. Now you're ready for action.

You can kick someone from this position pretty powerfully. You get him with the ball of your foot. Accompany this with a yell, "Stop!"

A groin kick is the same, but you swing up to his crotch with the top of your foot.

I was barefoot, and this probably hurt me more than it hurt the mannequin.

My final station was How to Get Away from Someone Holding You. This may be the most valuable thing I have ever heard of.

If he's got your wrist, you roll it toward and over his thumb. Try it. It's so cool.

My teacher was big and strong, and I got away.

After you free your hand, you make with the clawing, temple striking, ear boxing and groin kneeing. Then you run.

If the guy holds your wrist with both his hands, you make a fist with your captive hand, grab it with your free one and pull it toward your shoulder. That leaves your elbow right by his temple. Handy.

If he grabs you in a bear hug, he has to lift you up to take you anywhere. When your legs are off the ground, run in the air.

He has to set you down.

As soon as he does, stomp his foot, widen your stance and bend your knees. Move your fist across his testicles, (this works whether he's in front or behind you).

Then, if he's in front of you, put your fists together and push them up between you to push his throat away. He will release his hold. Strike or claw and run.

If he's behind you, use an elbow to the gut.

The teacher shared this interesting fact: Most women victims are strangled.

He showed us first what not to do when hands are on your throat. Don't push his hands away or try to peel his fingers off your neck. You will only increase the pressure on your windpipe.

Bring an arm across your front and rotate your upper body. I swept my left arm to the right with a torso twist and was freed easily.

As always, strike and split.

Once you are free, call the police, call a friend and don't wash yourself. You may have the assailant's DNA under your nails.

Take this class.

toni.momberger@inlandnewspapers.com

San Bernardino County sheriff s Sgt. Horace Boatwright, left, a sixth-degree master, and Wilson Wong demonstrate a technique during the Women's Personal Safety Seminar at the Redlands Community Center on Saturday. The seminar, which is led by Redlands police Officer Alex Paredes, is taught twice a year with most of the instructors following the Chang Moo Kwan style of martial arts. (ERIC TOM/Staff Photographer)

REDLANDS - What is a woman to do when approached by a man as she walks alone to her car in a mall parking lot after dark?

The nearly 50 women and teen girls who attended Saturday's Women's Self-Defense and Safety Workshop held by the Redlands Police Department know the answer to that question, as well as how to defend themselves in multiple attack scenarios.

The four-hour class included tips on how to not look like someone a predator might prey on, as well as training in basic, easy-to-remember and execute self-defense moves that could be executed by children, adults and seniors.

Seminar volunteer George Fullerton, a martial arts instructor in Diamond Bar, taught the women about the nature of predators and gave them easy pointers on how to not become prey.

"They're called predators for a reason," Fullerton said. "They are looking at the herd, looking for the easiest ones to pull out. Don't walk like a victim, be confident, be aware of your surroundings."

Fullerton said a predator is less likely to attack a woman who stares him right in the face than one who pretends not to see him, looks down or doesn't notice him at all.

Parking lots, garages, public restrooms and malls are the four most common places where attacks occur, he said. So when in these areas, women (and men, who are becoming victimized at higher rates) should be alert and carry themselves with confidence.

"I am parked right out front (of the

No one should be afraid or embarrassed to ask a security guard for assistance, Schaublin said.

"If you don't feel safe when you come out of a mall or a place of business, if you think something is wrong, use your instincts," she said. "Go back in and ask the security guard to walk to your car with you. We all have instincts, you just need to learn how to use them."

Though they may attack in public places, the last thing predators want is a scene, one must make as much noise as possible if attacked, Fullerton said.

Fullerton, along with Redlands Police Officer Alex Paredes who co-led the event, encouraged attendees to fight back if they are ever attacked.

"As a victim, you have a better chance of surviving if you fight back," Fullerton said.

He said even if the attacker is armed, the odds of survival are better if one fights.

"If he is showing you a knife, he is going to use it," Fullerton said. "Are you just going to let him use it without a fight?"

Fullerton said a majority of the time, a predator with a gun will miss his target or will not inflict a lethal wound, so he believes it is worth the risk to fight back.

Paredes said women can use things like their keys, fingernails, shoes, high heels, pens or pencils, purses or belt buckles to fight off a predator.

"We don't encourage anyone to get weapons only because you have to practice with them," Paredes said. "You have to be willing to use it and you have to know how to use it."

Throughout the class, participants learned vulnerable points on the body and ways to attack them in self-defense, among them gouging out eyes, popping the ear drum and kicking the groin. With the help of local police officers, sheriffs, martial arts instructors and students and other volunteers, participants practiced punching, kicking, elbowing, stomping and more.

"Use your legs," Fullerton advised the women in the event of a physical attack. "Your legs are your weapon, they are four to six times stronger than a man's arms."

They also learned how to escape when being choked or pulled and practiced defense moves specifically designed in the event a predator gets the victim on the floor.

Local real estate agent and resident Pat Seymour, who is in her mid-60s, said she felt taking the class was a good idea considering her career.

"With the economy the way it is, people are more desperate and with the kind of job I have we always have to be aware of our surroundings and not getting in a bad position," Seymour said.

"But if I ever do get into a bad situation, I want to know what to do. I think practice is everything but I'm a lot more prepared now than I've ever been," she said after the class.

Fellow real estate agent Carol Meulenkamp, in her 70s, said she has taken safety seminars before but attended to refresh her memory.

"I just feel it's important to keep abreast of new techniques and keep refreshed of what to do," she said. "I'm just sorry I didn't have my granddaughters out here to participate with me. I just think this is important for everyone, male of female."

Thirteen-year-old Lauren Sanchez, of Banning, said she has practiced self-defense before in school but felt safer following Saturday's class.

"It makes me feel better because I have more knowledge on it and could defend myself better so I'm not afraid anymore," she said.

Helpful tips

Park by a light

Have car keys in hand when walking to car; don't talk/text on cell phone

Ask a security guard to escort you to vehicle

Have one hand free at all times when walking

Hold bag of purse with hand, don't just let the strap hang on shoulder

Make eye contact with people passing

Cause a scene

Avoid being taken to a secondary crime scene (taken from one location to another)

Sleep with car keys on night stand, push car alarm or panic button if you hear someone enter house

If sexually assaulted, do not shower; contact police

Weapons at your disposal

Project confidence

Voice

Keys

Fingernails

Hard soled shoes or heels

Pen/pencil

Purse

Belt (buckle)

SOURCE: Saturday's Women's Self Defense and Safety Workshop

Helpful contacts

Email: Personalsafety@redlandspolice.org

Facebook: Redlands PD Street Smart Self Defense

San Bernardino Sexual Assault Services:

Redlands Office

30 Cajon St., Redlands, CA 92373

909-335-8777

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN): 1-800-656-4673

Email Staff Writer Chantal M. Lovell at clovell@redlandsdailyfacts.com

Redlands Police officers and volunteers gave safety and self-defense training to women in 2009. Another Women s Safety Seminar is scheduled for April 9 at the Redlands Community Center. (Courtesy Photo)

REDLANDS - Women will have a chance to fight back against potential attackers at an upcoming seminar in self-defense and safety.

The Redlands Police Department will hold a self-defense and personal safety seminar from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Redlands Community Center.

The cost for the seminar is $10. All of the fees collected will be applied to the Street Smart after-school program, which teaches children and teenagers self-defense and discipline. Space is limited and people are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible.

"As safe as I believe Redlands to be, I think it's a prudent idea for everybody, but women in particular, to learn the basic skills of self-protection," said Police Chief Jim Bueermann.

The seminar, designed specifically for women and girls ages 13 and up, will teach participants basic self-defense skills and the importance of personal safety. The purpose is to raise the level of awareness among women and minimize their risk of victimization.

Officer Alex Paredes will lead the seminar, which is part of the Street Smart after-school self-defense program he teaches in cooperation with the department's Recreation Division.

"(The seminar) is not going to make you Bruce Lee overnight," Paredes said, but it will hopefully give people the tools to ward off an attack.

Paredes said that the seminar has four parts, including self-defense techniques, a demonstration on how to strike

At the end, participants can show what they've learned by warding off an assault in a simulation with an officer acting as a would-be attacker.

Attendees will also watch a video of an actual attack, caught on a surveillance camera, and listen to information from the county's Sexual Assault Services department.

"The No. 1 thing we want (people) to remember is to be aware of their surroundings without getting paranoid," Paredes said.

Candy Stallings, executive director of the county's Sexual Assault Services department, reiterated the importance of paying attention to one's environment.

"If a person is close enough to startle you, you're not being aware (enough)," Stallings said.

She the presentations help participants in other ways besides teaching self-defense techniques.

"You come out feeling different, feeling more confident," Stallings said.

Paredes echoed the power of confidence, explaining that if a person looks aware, a potential attacker is less likely to make a move. He also said that the chances of surviving an attack increase dramatically if a person fights back.

"The skills Alex is able to give participants not only provides them with basic skills, but also gives them a sense of confidence and the ability to detect potential problems before they become a victim," Bueermann said.

IF YOU GO

To register, call 909-798-7572, or visit the Redlands Community Center, 111 W. Lugonia Avenue

Participants should wear loose clothing and comfortable tennis shoes, and bring a light lunch

E-mail Staff Writer Molly Davis at mdavis@redlandsdailyfacts.com