StreetSense teaches defense in any situation

Times Reporter    

 

On March 23 Kerry Sauve, director of StreetSense Safety and Security Inc, was in Strathmore teaching women how to defend themselves in the case of an attack. StreetSense Padded Assailant workshop was held at the Youth Club Centre from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Sharon Herr and her daughter Shari Bishop were just two of the participants who signed up for the course. 

“First of all I’m 67, and I haven’t taken anything like that in years so I thought in this day and age it’s probably something that every woman needs,” said Herr. 

“Basically the whole thing was about not fighting, but protecting yourself, having the advantage if you ever are attacked. I think it was something every parent with especially teenage girls should take.”

Sauve showed two teen girls that were there how to get out of a restraint when a guy might grab their arm at a dance, or school, without it being a big scene. Herr said Sauve really focused on making sure the women at the course fully learned a couple of different techniques before moving on to teach a new one.

“It’s not about going fisticuffs on the guy, it’s getting in close and maiming them basically so that you’ve got the 30 seconds to get away. He also said it was really important to make a lot of noise so that people could hear you and that often that also scares the offender off,” said Herr. 

Another example of what Sauve taught the women was if an attacker just says give me your purse, you should give it to them, nothing in it is worth your life to fight for.

“Don’t just hand it to him, throw it so it distracts him. If you throw it past him it distracts him while he goes to pick up your purse, if he didn’t really want your purse then that won’t distract him and you’ve got to know you’re going to be in trouble then cause he wants you to. It really was about being smart in the street, the kind of things you might expect to happen and we will have the element of surprise on our side,” said Herr. 

Program Coordinator for the Youth Club of Strathmore Colina Clark believes that if something can enhance the quality of life, it is worth it. 

“This program exceeded my expectations as the Coordinator and as a participant, it was phenomenal. The defensive techniques learnt were natural,” said Clark. 

“Having the opportunity, within a controlled environment, of being in realistic situations to practice the techniques was invaluable and encouraging. Knowledge is power, situational awareness is key.”

Clark said the program received a lot of positive feedback and she is looking forward to personally take the self-defense program again, and others that the Sauve and StreetSense have to offer. She would like to offer another Padded Assailant course in June if there is enough interest.