The TCU Police Department wants students to be prepared for any situation, so it hosted a class on self-defense. Three officers, all retired from the Fort Worth Police Department, recently gave students lessons in personal safety at a self-defense class sponsored by TCU Campus Recreation & Wellness Promotion. About 15 students attended the hour-long session. “The purpose of this class is to teach you how to get your attacker off of you so that you can run away,” Sgt. Rich Martinez, the primary instructor for the class, said. “This class isn’t to teach you how to fight back.” The officers taught students about pressure points and sensitive areas on the body such as the throat, mid-chest, behind the collar bone, shins and feet. Applying pressure to these areas can weaken the attacker and improve the chances of a victim getting away. The officers provided the class with shields to protect the person acting as the attacker while practicing drills such as knee strikes and shin kicks.

The forearm strike, a self-defense technique, focused on the sensitive nerve right below the elbow. “Of all the training we’re teaching you, this is the most sensitive technique you should use if physically attacked,” Martinez said. “If the attacker grabs your wrist, their forearm is exposed, which gives you the opportunity to go ahead and strike.” Martinez urged students in the class to visualize themselves in the situation and work with their partners to apply the techniques learned to the exercise. Commander Fred Long, one of the instructors, told students it’s important to be aware of their surroundings and always have a game plan in case of an emergency so they can react quickly.

One way to better be aware is for students to stop looking at their phones while going from place to place. “I work nights and weekends, and I sit out here every night watching a female walk across campus with her head in her phone,” Long said. He wrapped up the class by telling students about resources on campus if they are involved in any incidents. These resources include Frog Shield and the blue light system.