A free self-defence course for women drew some 45 participants to Sudbury BJJ and Muay Thai Academy on Aug. 4.
The local gym, which has locations in New Sudbury and Hanmer, said the course was offered to provide the participants with some skills to keep themselves safe from would-be attackers.
“Women who take self-defense classes typically aren’t training to be championship fighters,” Sudbury BJJ said in a Facebook post. “They take these classes because they want to be prepared to confront dangers in real-world scenarios.”
Steve Joncas from Sudbury BJJ said the one-time introductory course was about two things: giving back to the community and provide women with useful skills.
“We put this on as a way of giving back to the community,” Joncas told Sudbury.com. “It was available to anyone who identifies as female and is at least 13 years old. We taught … real-world, leverage-based techniques that will work regardless of the size of the attacker.”
Real-world dangers don’t have weight classes or time limits, he added.
“To best prepare for these kinds of situations, women should look for courses that train them to defend against attackers in the most realistic settings,” Joncas said.
“This self-defense program at Sudbury Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Academy teaches women to respond to and escape the most common attacks on women, in addition to techniques to identity and diffuse potential attacks, in a safe environment with experienced and thoughtful instructors.”
For more info on the academy and its programs, visit SudburyBJJ.com.
