INGLESIDE, Texas — Would you know what to do if you got attacked or if you felt like something just wasn’t right when doing simple tasks like walking to your car?
The Ingleside Police Department is teaching people what they should look out for when there could be danger and how to defend themselves. On Saturday they held a self-defense seminar at the Elite Fitness Training Facility in Ingleside.
Sabra Ott was one of the participants who went to the seminar and said she had a situation at the Walmart in Portland where a man tried to snatch her wallet.
“I was afraid that he was going to take my wallet. I did feel him staring at me, I felt him following me,” Ott said.
Ott said the techniques she learned in the seminar were not as difficult as she had originally thought and it made her more knowledgeable about how she could defend herself.
“I did not know how easy those techniques are that you can use to protect yourself against the bad guy,” she said.
Ott said one of the main things she learned to do is to look out for any signs of danger and be aware of what is around her.
“It taught me how to be more aware of what my surroundings were. It taught me a few simple easy techniques and I’ve got a lot of knowledge on what to do and what not to do and it was really good,” Ott said.
Stacy Jorgenson, the community service officer for the Ingleside Police Department, said hitting someone in the eyes could do major damage because it blurs their vision. He also suggested hitting the perpetrator in the windpipe and groin.
Kenneth Lay also attended the seminar and said he never would have thought to hit the attacker in those areas, but said he could have used that knowledge at a younger age.
“There were a lot of few bad people in my earlier years and I never once I thought of doing that and to me it was really good instructions,” Lay said.
Self defense instructions weren’t the only thing taught at the seminar. Ingleside P.D. also taught about what to look out for when going to your car, like looking out to see if anyone is hiding on the side of your car and if you do see someone, scream so someone can hear you just in case the attacker becomes violent.
Jorgenson said violence is necessary when people are being violent against you and encouraged people to be more violent than the attacker.
“Probably the most important thing is to be aware of your surrounds and not perceive yourself or look like a victim,” he said.
The Ingleside Police Department is hoping to have this event again in the near future.
