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Back-to-School: Excitement for Kids, Worry for Parents

Self-defense workshop at Broadneck Park has students learning how to stay safe.

It’s back-to-school time. For students, there’s the excitement of picking out new backpacks and the colorful folders and notebooks to fill them. For the college bound, it’s about selecting towels and linens that express the more grown-up person they’re becoming.

For parents, however, back-to-school can be a time of mixed emotions. Their excitement is often tempered by a nagging worry: “Will my kid be safe?” That anxiety can be heightened by news reports such as the recent lockdown at Virginia Tech, a college community still reeling from a shooting rampage in 2007.

What’s a parent to do?

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A few Broadneck parents decided to take matters into their own hands this summer by hiring a local martial arts expert to give their teenagers some lessons in basic self defense.

Most people, teens or adults, don’t know what to do if they find themselves in a dangerous situation, said Tommy Lee, founder of East Coast Martial Arts in Annapolis and a fourth degree black belt. Lee believes that social media has opened up a whole new world of potential problems.

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“A lot of times, people don’t realize what kind of trouble they can get in,” he told about a dozen girls ranging in age from 14 to 20. A couple of moms joined the class as well.

"The first safety measure is situational awareness,” Lee said. “Self defense is about preparing yourself so you don’t get yourself into a problem.”

He urged the girls to share information about where they are with a trusted friend and always have a “swim buddy,” someone who’s got your back at the football game or at a party in an off-campus apartment.

He also validated mom’s age-old advice: make sure your cell phone is charged, your gas tank is full, and that you’ve got a little money in your pocket in case of emergency.

Lee suggested the girls get into the habit of scanning a room for the exit doors wherever they go, something he does routinely as he travels the country for training seminars and competitions.

But even when preventative measures are taken, things can happen. When it does, you can de-escalate the situation by walking away and resisting the urge to confront a potentially violent individual, Lee told the girls. If attacked, however, there are some simple techniques that can be used to disable the attacker. The objective is to get away as quickly as possible and call for help.

“One of the best self defense things you can do is to be able to run 50 feet very fast,” Lee said.

Many objects can be used as weapons, from a cell phone, to car keys to a small vase on a college dorm table. He taught the girls how to lock their arms around an object, whether a bicycle, a pole, a small tree or another person, to keep from being dragged into a car.

He demonstrated – sometimes painfully – where to pinch an attacker to stop him in his tracks. The back of the upper arm and the inside of the thigh are particularly tender spots. He also discussed pressure points behind the earlobes and directly under the nose. A head butt to the cheek can also be effective.

The girls did role-playing on breaking a choke hold and practiced how to get free if someone grabs their arm by clasping their own hands together and jerking away.

At a second class at Broadneck Park, Lee went over parking lot safety and what to do if someone tries to drag you into the woods.

In a parking lot, your own car can be used as an obstacle to avoid attack. He had the girls run drills where they circled a car, always keeping the attacker opposite them. He also showed them how to use the car door as a barricade.

One of the most effective ways to avoid being dragged is not to resist, but to allow yourself to be pulled – then step on the attacker’s foot, Lee said. The momentum will make the attacker fall backward. If not, it provides a vantage point for a well-placed kick to the knee.

Lee stressed he was not trying to scare the girls, but to make them feel empowered in a dangerous world.

Scarlett Schiller, 20, of Cape St. Claire, is going into her second year at Anne Arundel Community College. She said the self-defense techniques she learned gave her a confidence boost.

“They were things that were quick and easy and you could put in your memory bank,” she said.       

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