The Jewish Community Center encourages girls ages 16 to 18 to attend the teen self-defense class in

The Jewish Community Center encourages girls ages 16 to 18 to attend the teen self-defense class in preparation for their independent lives away from home.

Class Information

When: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., April 14, 21 and 28

Where: Jewish Community Center, 505 Gypsy Lane

Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members

Info: www.jccyoungstown.org or (330) 746-3251

Some self-defense tips you will learn:

Choosing A Response

Comply: Do what the assailant asks of you. If you are held at gunpoint, outside of disarming range, there’s no other option but to comply.

Escape: Fleeing from the threat safely and rapidly.

De-escalate: An essential skill because not every confrontation warrants fighting back.

Assert: Effective communication skills can enable you to deter a person’s efforts to intimate, dominate or control you.

Fight Back: Use of physical and psychological techniques to stun or incapacitate the attacker.

Using Skills/Assessing Situation

Escape routes: There’s nothing wrong with running away from a threatening situation, because the ultimate goal of self-defense is to survive. Scan the environment for windows, doors, fences, staircases and other exits.

Barriers: An object you use to obstruct the attackers path to you.

Makeshift weapons: Everyday objects can be used as weapons such as a hot cup of coffee, car antenna or heavy flashlight.

Source: The Jewish Community Center; and “Develop the Observational Skills You Need for Reality-Based Self-Defense” from Black Belt Magazine, www.blackbeltmag.com. by Sammy Franco.