LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – After several incidents of violence at Clark County schools, teachers are taking safety into their own hands by enrolling in self-defense classes.
Lee Sakai owns Samurai Training Center off Mountain Vista in Henderson. A couple of weeks ago, the topic of violence at CCSD schools was brought up by a student of his.
“One day one of my students and I were chatting after class and he sort of brought it to my attention what’s going on in the school system. It sounded shocking really. So he has a contact at CCSD and he called her immediately after that conversation said – hey I got my Jiu-Jitsu coach here and that’s how the ball started rolling,” Sakai said.
Sakai said awareness is key.
“Distance awareness a lot of times when there’s a confrontation they’re not managing the distance well they allow people in their private space. So it’s basically creating that space confidently without being very aggressive looking,” Sakai said.
He will be holding a free class this Saturday from 12-2 p.m.
“I’m really excited because I really want to share what we have as far as Jiu-Jitsu and how it can help people,” Sakai said.
Those interested can RSVP to [email protected].
Samurai Training Center is not the only martial arts studio holding free self-defense sessions.
Gracie Barra Henderson off Gibson Road will be holding a class on Sunday May 1 at 10 a.m.
Tara Cox, owner of Legacy Martial Arts, said after she talked to some of her family members she decided she wanted to offer a free class to teachers.
“Just to help them feel more safe and give them a little bit of situational awareness and some information that could be helpful to them,” Cox said.
Once she put feelers out, she got a huge response.
“We had lots of message and lots of people that were thankful and super grateful for us offering this,” Cox said.
Their first session on May 21 filled up, so now they’re offering a second free session. Cox has a feeling they will keep it going to a third.
“I was surprised, but not surprised just because I have a lot of friends that work for the school district and I know that everyone is just feeling very vulnerable right now they’re feeling unsure of what their work place is going to look like and feel like,” Cox said.
She said they will go over a few scenarios and teach them how to diffuse the situation.
“One of the first line of defenses is awareness and being able to diffuse the situation before it escalates,” Cox said.
To register, a link can be found by clicking here.
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