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Stop!

No!

Fire!

Master Terranova of TRU Taekwondo encouraged the female students to yell one of these instead of help if confronted by a person who is in their space.

Along with some strategic moves and using “Stop”, “No” or “Fire” in a loud and assertive voice, the women and girls learned to defend themselves against an attacker.

On Saturday, June 13, TRU Taekwondo, in partnership with the Davie Respect Initiative (DRI), sponsored a free self defense seminar for teen and adult women. Participants were asked to bring a donation for the Dragonfly House.

“TRU Taekwondo prides itself on growing leaders in our community and teaching respect through building relationships. It’s only fitting for us to be drawn to a like-minded group such as the Davie Respect Initiative.  Partnering for the Women and Teens Self Defense Seminar was a great success as we were able to remind teens and women on how to be aware and how to avoid scenarios where they would have to defend themselves,”   said Sara-Anne Averett Bell, director of marketing and communications at TRU.

It was an energetic, informative and organized one-hour program.  Terranova, Masters McLean and Arguella demonstrated techniques and then all of the participants had a chance to practice – kicking, using elbows, knees, punching and more.

Arguello, who is also part of the DRI Team, began the seminar with some sobering statistics such as 1 in 5 women will experience  rape or attempted rape during their lifetime with 69 percent being between the ages of 12-34.

Just a few of the practical tips Master Arguello discussed:

• focus on your surroundings and be aware;

• walk with confidence;

• make eye contact ;

• do not go out alone with someone you met online;

• do not tell the date where you live;

• send your location to a couple of trusted people and update them throughout the night;

• when walking, do not have your eyes on your phone;

• do not share your location on social media when you are going on vacation;

• at a party or bar, never leave your drink alone; and

• always trust your instincts.

“That was amazing,”  “I learned so much,” “That was so helpful and fun – I got out a week’s worth of stress” were some of the exclamations from the Ambassadors of Respect and young women in the community.

“Our family has been involved with TRU, DRI and The Dragonfly House; and it was such a treat to attend an event that involved all of these great local organizations.  I certainly benefited from the education, awareness and self-defense recommendations that were presented,”  Jeannine Brown said.

“It was a great success for The Davie Respect Initiative, The Dragonfly House, and TRU Taekwondo. There were 40 people in attendance, all bringing generous donations,”  Arguello said. “The table was full of bottled waters, packaged snacks, copy paper and t-shirts for the children at the Dragonfly House.”

For more information about classes at TRU Taekwondo, visit www.trutkd.com.

To learn more about the Davie Respect Initiative, visit www.davierespect.com.

To learn more or to make donations to the Dragonfly House, visit www.thedragonflyhouse.com.