THUNDER BAY – Though she hopes she’ll never need it, Liz Arbour feels comfortable now that she has a basic understanding of self-defence.
She and her cousin were part of a group of women participating in a self-defence training seminar held at Leading Edge gym on Sunday.
“It gives me some confidence and some good skills to have,” she said. “Hopefully I won’t have to use them but if I do hopefully they’ll help me out.”
Self-defence instructor Leo Oja said the seminars are held between three to four times per year and draw a range of women.
The seminar is geared for women of all ages, with mothers and daughters encouraged to participate together.
Co-instructor Arin Bowes said peace of mind is a primary factor for many of her students.
“A lot of them are mothers who are concerned for their daughters,” she said. “I find the older ladies don’t have as much concern for themselves but they’re really worried about their daughters (growing up).”
The seminar focuses heavily on individuality and teaching the women to utilize their natural attributes to fend off an attack.
That especially means teaching them to do whatever it takes to get away.
“This isn’t a fight with rules. That’s the difference between what we’re trying to teach here versus any other martial art that is a sport,” Bowes said.
“When you train a martial art you train to operate within rules. What we’re teaching is no rules. I’m going to teach these women to poke eyes out and rake your throat with their fingernails if that’s what it’s going to take to survive. This isn’t about winning and losing a fight. It’s about not dying.”
