Police Offer Free Self-Defense Classes
About 100 women in Santa Monica learned how to fight back last weekend.
They were students in free, four-hour self-defense classes offered by the Santa Monica Police Department. Four hours was not long enough for the women to master all the techniques of self-defense, but they learned the basics.
By the end of the session the women--old and young, big and small--were able to kick and punch a male police officer to the ground as he pretended to stalk them. And every time the police officer went down, the women cheered at the victory.
The Police Department offered the hands-on training after it received a deluge of requests from Santa Monica residents for self-defense information. A serial rapist is believed to be responsible for attacks on four women in Santa Monica since October.
No suspect has been arrested, and one victim has publicly accused police of not being responsive enough to her case. But women who attended the self-defense classes said they were impressed that the police cared enough to offer the class.
“This makes me feel much better about the Police Department than I did before,” said Victoria Tyler, a Santa Monica resident. “Now I feel like I have some options on how to fight back so I won’t be flailing around like a fish if I’m attacked.”
Two self-defense classes are scheduled for Feb. 25, and there may be more after that. For information: (310) 458-2212.
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