Women's Self Defense

Many ladies and teen girls participated in this first-time Women's Ministry event at BVCC.  Ryan Suedel and other officers from the Bentonville Police Department led the self defense session on Feb. 9.  Look for another class in the future.

Below is an article printed in the Weekly Vista about the Women's Self Defense Class.

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SELF DEFENSE CLASS PROVIDES PUNCH FOR WOMEN WORKERS

By Lynn Atkins

When the church sends women out to work in the community, they need to be aware of safety issues,  said  Monica van Oudheusden, Women’s Ministry leader of Bella Vista Christian Church,  so she organized a women’s self defense class at the church on Saturday.

Some 50 women, from teens to octogenarians signed up.

“This class is about empowering them,” instructor Stephanie Wooten said.  “They don’t have to be victims.”

The class is usually taught over three nights at the Bentonville Police Department, instructor Ryan Suedel said.  Each class builds on the one before, so it’s important that students attend all three nights.  He arranged the special Saturday class at van Oudheusden’s request and it was slightly shorter.

“We can’t teach people to be proficient in self defense in a few hours,” he said, “so we teach them to be aware of their surroundings, and avoid dangerous situations.”  The class also gives them a few basic skills that are the same for all age levels, he said.

It’s not uncommon for older women to take the class, he said, adding, “anyone can be a victim”.

Each student can adapt the moves they learn to their own fitness level, he said.

Linda Lankford took the class with her almost 14-year-old daughter.  Jenna Lankford is reaching the age when she’s out on her own and her mother wants to make sure she can protect herself.

Lois Welnetz is already a survivor.  She wants to refresh her awareness and possibly even increase it.  “It pays to be prepared,” she said.

Jen Brock is a stay-at-home mom with two young boys and a volunteer self defense instructor.  She took the class at the Bentonville Police Dept., and wanted to go further, so she attended instruction training and now helps teach the class.

The most important message?  “You can get away,” she said.  “When it comes down to a fight for your life, you can get away.”

She tells her students that self defense is partly a mind set.  They need a “warrior” mind set.

Standing in a large circle in the church’s Fellowship Hall, the woren practiced kicking and punching from the core using their abdominal and back muscles.

Most people, Wooten told them, don’t realize how much more power they have when they hold their arms in and punch directly from their core.

“If you can’t do one of these moves, it doesn’t mean you are out of the fight,” she said.  “We are just giving you options.”

The Women’s Self Defense Class at the Bentonville Police Dept., usually has a waiting list.  To find out more, call 479-0271-5986

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 Linda Lankford, (left) took the women’s self defense class with her almost 14-year-old daughter, Jenna Lankford, at the Bella Vista Christian Church.

Instructor Stephanie Wooten demonstrates how using core muscles increases power by asking Shirley Eastman to make a circle of her thumb and first finger, and hold it in close to her chest.  It was easier to break apart the fingers when Eastman’s arm was extended to one side.  Next to her, Carlotta Harned waits for her turn.

 Volunteer instructor Jen Brock prepares to kick a cushion held by Stephanie Wooten.  It’s important to not hold back in class, she told her students, because muscle memory will help if they are attacked.