Shaky economy finds women turning to self-defense classes

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - The incidents made Lisa Grossman incredibly uneasy.

First, a man forced a sister of an acquaintance into her car in Troy, Mich., directed her to an ATM, and stole $400.

Next, another man hovered near her 9-year-old daughter at a Burger King in Rochester Hills, Mich., making faces and following them around, sending Grossman and her daughter into a panic.

Grossman, 42, felt unprotected and unsafe _ a feeling she hated.

Worried that the troubled economy might perpetuate crime and put her and her family in precarious situations, Grossman called the School of Chinese Martial Arts in Berkley, Mich., to inquire about a self-defense class.

"I said, 'I don't want to be that person,'" says Grossman, a mother of two in Clawson, Mich. "I don't want to be a victim."

The school's general manager, Jeri Donahue, and owner Robert Brown thought a self-defense class would help women like Grossman feel more secure. So on April 18, the school is offering its first free self-defense workshop, "ABC's of Personal Protection for Women."

Michelle Boykins, spokeswoman for the National Crime Prevention Council, says while there have been no national statistics tying the down economy to an increased crime rate, geographic pockets are showing elevating rates.

A report released last fall by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed that 42 percent of 124 cities surveyed are experiencing increased crime as a result of economic conditions.

A self-defense class, she says, can help make women less vulnerable to being crime targets. "The thing that comes out of a self-defense class is that you get a sense of self-confidence," says Boykins. "And that projects very well into personal situations."

But it isn't just martial arts moves. Women are seeking self-protection in the form of weapons, too.

Don Haigh, co-owner of Firing Line Indoor Gun Range and Gun Shop in Westland, Mich., says the store's semi-monthly 2-hour training classes for women have been filling up so quickly they need to preregister a month ahead of time. The class goes over handgun safety, as well as how to load and shoot a firearm.

The number of women who have bought firearms from his store, usually Glock and Smith & Wesson handguns, has doubled in the past year, he estimates. The majority buy guns for self-defense rather than for sport.

"The only way you're going to pull that gun out," he says, "is if your life is in danger."

The same goes for deploying martial arts-based techniques, though not everything is about punching and kicking.

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Brown, who will help instruct the free class, says women will learn that an attack involves "a battle physically and mentally." The class will address awareness and outmaneuvering criminals by doing what they don't expect.

Only after discussing psychological aspects of self-defense will the class venture into physical methods that include role-playing with fake knives and guns.

"There are vital areas that can't be strengthened by anyone," says Donahue. "No matter what a guy tells you, you can't strengthen the eyes, ears, nose, throat or groin."

Grossman says she's "elated" to try out new techniques.

And she adds, her voice filling with determination: "I definitely want to learn how to kick something ugly."

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© 2009, Detroit Free Press.