Self-defense class has much to offer women

It may look like I'm playing mercy with one of the biggest guys in the Shreveport Police Department, but rather he's teaching me how to escape the grip of an attacker. He bruised my wrist during the training session, but I still managed to get away. He also tore the sleeve of my hoodie a little bit, but no real harm was done.

Times staffer Janelle Rucker and I attended the self-defense class at the training academy last week. We had a good time and each learned some serious self-defense tactics. It was fun even though we had to choke each other and pretend to hit each other. At some point, Janelle stopped pretending and actually popped me in the face -- on accident.

Women of all ages participated, and the techniques were extremely helpful. We didn't learn as much about fighting as we thought, but we learned some easy to remember skills to help defend ourselves. The officer explained that trying to fight a male attacker isn't always the best strategy. If a woman tries to fight back, her chances of winning are less than one percent. But escaping is much more likely and can be done if you know how. Another class will be offered in December.