Self-defence for women
Course will give tips for difficult situations
‘ Our main objective is to see fewer women being abused and more women able to stand up for themselves
THE House of Koga and the Boardwalk Casino have joined forces in a bid to help women protect themselves through free self-defence training. The self-defence course for women will run on Wednesdays from tomorrow until May 27 at the Lighthouse at the Boardwalk (from 6.30pm).
The programme is open to all women from the age of 16 in Port Elizabeth and is free of charge.
House of Koga is a martial arts club based in Walmer Park.
Programme instructor Shihan Hendrik Strauss says this course is part of their “give back to women” programme.
“We run a committee at the club and this is one of our targets for this year, to give back to women. For May we have the give-back campaign, where we want to teach women how to look after themselves.
“Our target was getting 30 women but if there is a huge demand I might push it to 40, because the venue is big enough.”
Strauss, 45, has been involved in martial arts since 1987 and holds a fifth degree black belt.
“Through this course our main objective is to see fewer women being abused and more women being able to stand up for themselves.”
Strauss says being bullied at school pushed him towards martial arts.
“Part of what I have done throughout the years as I have developed myself through martial arts is to give back to women from time to time.
“We develop programmes where we teach them what to look out for when in danger. We also point out all the little things they do wrong when they go into parking lots and what makes them easy targets, and we show them some tricks in how to look after themselves.”
Women are welcome to bring their partners along.
“It’s always good to bring a male partner and do the techniques with a male component, so you can feel the strength that you are handled with, and also know how to react if someone does attack you.”