Awareness is best self-defense

I recently took a free, one-hour self-defense class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

I didn’t know what I would learn in the course of an hour. To be honest, I didn’t think I would learn much.

Surprisingly though, I found myself down on the floor practicing moves I just might need some day.

Common sense tips Park in well lit areas. Walk in pairs or large groups. Know where the emergency phones are on campus. There are 21 blue light emergency phones on the UNMC/The Nebraska Medical Center campus and two emergency alarms – one in employee Lot 50 (employee parking garage at Durham Research Plaza and Emile Street) and one in Lot 2 (patient/visitor parking garage). A campus escort service is available for people working late at night and can be accessed by calling 559-5111. Stay informed. A quarterly report on campus crime statistics is available online at https://info.unmc.edu/security Source: Denney and Ingraham.

I want to pass along what I learned from Mike Denney, a wrestling coach and self-defense instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and John Ingraham, campus security sergeant for UNMC.

Be aware of your surroundings advise Denney and Ingraham. “If you don’t think it is safe, it probably isn’t,” Ingraham said.

People, especially women, should trust their “sixth sense” or gut instinct when it comes to their safety, Ingraham said. “I believe it is very important for every woman to have a heightened awareness of her surroundings,” he said.

Both Denney and Ingraham say a person should know his or her strengths and weaknesses. “Be mindful,” Ingraham said,”women have more lower body strength and men have more upper body strength.”

That’s an important difference to note, Denney said, especially if a predator knocks you down.

“Use your legs and feet to your advantage,” he said. “And if you do get knocked down to the ground, always try to keep your body propped up on one elbow and one hip with your knees bent and feet ready to kick.”

One way to keep from getting knocked down is to stand with your legs slightly apart. Individuals who stand with their feet close together are more easily knocked off balance, Denney said.

In addition, always protect your head and face. “Your eyes are the most vulnerable part of the body,” Denney said. “If a predator attacks and you have the opportunity to get just one clean shot, go for their eyes.”

He said the best way to do that is by using your thumb and jamming it into the predator’s eye socket up to the second knuckle. “Just knowing how disabling a speck of dust is in a person’s eye, imagine what your thumb will do,” he said.

Whatever happens, Ingraham said, “If you survive the attack, you’ve won.”

Ingraham also is the campus Sexual Harrassment, Assault, Rape Prevention (SHARP) instructor. He offers classes three times a year, but will teach more upon request. If anyone is interested in scheduling a class, call Ingraham at 559-4439. The SHARP course is free and open to faculty, staff and students of UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center.