Scott Swanson
Sweet Home police are offering a self-defense course for women, something they say has been a topic of interest among local citizens for some time.
The first of three planned classes will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at the police station. It will include both classroom instruction and physical contact exercises.
“This self-defense class has been something we’ve wanted to do for several years,” said Gina Riley, community services officer. She said the idea has been broached frequently by participants in the department’s Citizen Academy classes.
The police department surveyed some other departments to determine how they were doing it, finding that most either brought in a martial arts instructor or had their own defensive tactics trainers do it.
Riley said SHPD decided to use Ryan Cummings, its lead defensive tactics instructor, to lead the class along with fellow officer Chris Wingo.
She said the goal is to “educate females on how to protect themselves.”
The first class will be limited to adults, Riley said, even though there has been a lot of interest from teenagers – or their moms, at least. It’s not limited to women, but most of the interest seems to be coming from female residents thus far.
“There’s a plethora of adult women who want to have these techniques and skills,” she said. “We wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing before we offered it to anyone else. If we do get to the point that we feel confident that we might be able to teach this to teens, then we’ll open it up for that.
“Hopefully, in the next two sessions we’ll be able to offer it to anyone who has the desire.”
Cummings said the real purpose of the class is to help “citizens to be comfortable, to be able to be safe.
“We want them to have the ability to go out and do what they want to do and not have the feeling they’re going to be victimized.”
A big focus will be awareness – “knowing your surroundings,” he said. “It’s primarily designed to be an eye-opener for people who might be walking around in a state of mind that’s not real alert.”
The class will teach physical skills, but he said since it’s only a one-day affair, participants will need to practice on their own.
“We want to touch on the physical aspect,” he said. “We’re not just sending them out there, saying, ‘Good luck to you.’”
Riley suggested older women who take the first class may be able to use their younger family members as workout partners.
Response, she said, has been “overwhelming” with all but two of the 20 spots in the first class filled.
“I know this class is going to fill and we’re about halfway through on our wait list for filling the next class,” she said, adding that a date has not been set for the second of the three planned classes.
Both she and Cummings said they see the class as a potential confidence-booster for women.
“I think their sense of self -confidence will be boosted somewhat just knowing they’ve attempted something, that they’ve taken the initiative to at least learn,” Riley said.
Cummings said the increasing numbers of runners and walkers in town is one of the reasons for putting on the class.
“I’ve heard concerns expressed about them being out at that time and seeing other folks out with backpacks and hoods up,” he said. “That causes them some level of concern. We just want them to feel safe and also know what to do if something does come up.”