Don't be a victim, fight back with self-defense

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sarah Martinez
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  The sun is shining and the beach is calling. You and a friend check into your hotel room to start your spring break vacation. Later that night you see a shadowy figure inside your room.
You realize it's a man - and you start to panic. What do you do?

The men and women of Hurlburt Field learned what to do in this and similar situations in self-defense classes held at the 4th Special Operations Squadron's auditorium, April 5, 2011.

Tech. Sgt. Christopher Klug, 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron NCO in charge of the construction flight, volunteered to teach two self-defense classes as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sergeant Klug started practicing martial arts around 1992 before he joined the military.

The self-defense class enables a person with no martial arts experience to learn basic moves to combat sexual assault.

During the session, students learned they have about 11 weapons on their bodies, such as their fingernails, elbows and knees, even if they don't have anything like their purse or wallet to use. Sergeant Klug told the class to focus their weapons on three targets areas: the eyes, throat and groin.

"Females who use self-defense without any fighting experience successfully defend themselves 75 percent of the time," Sergeant Klug said. "I would take three out of four chances instead of not preparing myself at all."

After the class learned what weapons they have and what targets to hit, they partnered up and demonstrated different moves for different scenarios. They covered wrist grabs, bear hugs and the grip of death.

"There was a lot of good information, the class teaches you to always be prepared," said Staff Sgt. Vanessa Gras, 823rd Red Horse unit client systems administrator. "I wish there were more classes like this."

Another self-defense class is scheduled for April 20, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 4th Special Operations Squadron auditorium.

For more information on self-defense, email Sergeant Klug at giftofpower@rocketmail.com.