CRAIG, Colo.—Knees.
Elbows.
Fists.
And, most importantly, the mind—specifically, the awareness of what is going on around you.
These tools are with you all the time, Norm Rimmer told a group of teenage girls during a recent evening self-defense class, and they can help you defend yourself against an attacker.
Rimmer, a school resource officer with the Craig Police Department, has more than 10 years of experience teaching defensive tactics, first in the Grand County Sheriff’s Office and now at the Craig Police Department. He brought that experience to bear during the class for high school girls in the Moffat County High School wrestling room.
The class was open to all high school girls and was the fifth one offered recently at the high school.
Stopping Abuse Forever, or SAFE, a high school group that works in conjunction with Advocates Crisis Support Services, helped put on the classes this year.
A similar program was held at the high school last spring, said Kirstie McPherson, a MCHS senior who has been a SAFE member for three years, but she added the classes held this fall were more in depth.
The program is designed to teach young women about the skills they need to defend themselves, so “if there is ever a situation that they’re in, they know how to get out of it,” she said.
During a Nov. 9 class, Rimmer taught participants moves they could use in a variety of scenarios.
He showed them, among other things, how a well-placed elbow punch could free them from an attacker who seizes them from behind, as well as how to avoid getting fractures when delivering a punch.
Participants practiced those moves on padded bags, which they took turns holding for each other.
About 15 high school girls—most wearing T-shirts and athletic shorts—attended training. The MCHS wrestling room echoed with dull thuds as they punched the padded bags.
Samantha Fox, a 17-year-old MCHS senior, braced herself as the bag she held absorbed the blows delivered by Morgan Carrico, a 16-year-old junior.
Fox plans to attend Casper College in Casper, Wyo., after graduation, she said, and the anticipated move was a major factor in her decision to take the class.
“I’m going to college in a pretty big town, so I kind of wanted to learn how to defend myself if anything happens,” she said.
She wasn’t alone.
Sierra Arellano, also a MCHS senior, attended the class to prepare for life in college and defend herself “in case there (are) psychos out there in the world,” she said.
These are good reasons why, in Rimmer’s view, a self-defense class is important for teenage girls.
“Craig is a relatively safe town,” he said. “But, a lot of these girls are going to be going off to larger colleges, larger cities (with a) larger crime rate, where potentially there is going to be that opportunity for them to get into a situation where they’re going to have to defend themselves.
“Unfortunately, the world is a dangerous place with real threats.”
