WATCH | Nelson Mandela Bay women taught to defend themselves

It is important for women to learn to defend themselves when they are victims of violence because they need to be able to report the abuse to the police. 

This is why Gqeberha self-defence trainer Tony Klaasen focuses on simple and memorable tricks for women during his classes. 

Klaasen held a free self-defence class for women in Algoa Park on Saturday morning, where he gave more than 10 women and children practical training to help them defend themselves when faced with violent attacks of different kinds. 

He had been invited by National Security to facilitate the class. 

With years of experience in the safety and security industry, Klaasen said women were  too often taught complicated methods that they failed to remember when they were in a state of shock.

The trick, he said, was to learn simple methods and practise regularly.

“This is a learning process and you need to train regularly. 

“You learn very little in a one-hour session.

“I could teach you many tricks now and 30 minutes later you won’t know how to react because you have not practised enough to keep it in your memory,” he said.

Klaasen, fondly referred to as “Sensei” by his trainees, used various scenarios in which women get attacked, including rape, robbery, abduction and hijacking, using commonly used weapons including knives, guns, machetes, glass bottles and screw drivers.

Women were taught how to defend themselves using their hands, under the various circumstances.

By creating the scenarios, Klaasen said, he was teaching the women the importance of knowing how each weapon was commonly used by attackers and how best to handle it. 

He further explained the danger and impact of each weapon on a person's body. 

“Often people also walk around [showing off gadgets] in the streets, which attracts attackers. 

“Many lives have been lost because of cellphones.

“Criminals will look at the trace on your pockets and go for it.

“It’s best to hide your phone so they have nothing attracting them from a distance,” Klaasen said. 

Considering SA’s gender-based violence statistics, Klaasen said he was glad to teach the class at no cost to play his part in women empowerment and the fight against gender-based violence. 

“When we look at the newspaper, you’ll see that it’s [mostly] women that are abused and killed by violence.

“Women have to defend themselves before they can phone the police.

“So the more empowered women are to defend themselves, the better their chances of survival,” he said. 

The class was attended by more than 10 women and children, including members of the Algoa Park Neighbourhood Watch. 

Louisa Louis, a member of the Neighbourhood Watch, said the training would help equip them for their regular patrols.

“It’s so important to be trained on what to do because we are women and many of us are senior citizens.

“It means a lot to us that National Security has brought this to us,” Louis said. 

HeraldLIVE