Jefferson City police, Cole County deputies host self-defense class for women

Jefferson City police and Cole County deputies are teaming up to teach a self-defense class for women. The free class includes four sessions. Participants are required to attend each session.

“The last class is basically when we put all the techniques we’ve learned together, we put our instructors in suits and they basically fight it out,” said Officer Kelly Gettler, one of the teachers.

According to the Department of Justice, Jefferson City had 31 reported cases of rape and sexual assault/misconduct in 2014. About 25,000 females are raped or sexually assaulted annually in the U.S.

“It’s important to keep in mind those things can happen anywhere and everywhere you go,” Gettler said.

“We’re not immune from that here in little old Jefferson City,” Officer Kevin Kempker said. “So it’s important to learn how to be your own bodyguard in case something like this were to happen to you.”

The class is open to girls as young as 13. Girls 13 to 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s necessary for girls that young, especially teenage girls,” Gettler said. “We have a lot of women come in that are going into college, which is also very important since we hear a lot of high crime rates on college campuses.”

A lot of the class involves teaching basic martial arts to the participants.

“We teach them a lot of punches and kicks,” Gettler said. “It’s basic self-defense. We also teach how to get out of holds, such things as, like, bear hugs. We also teach basic ground defense. If you were to get into an altercation with somebody and were to end up on the ground, we also teach techniques to help get out of those.”

The class can help women learn how to use proper movements against a stronger opponent.

“So we teach them right kinetics and energy transfer so that what they use on their aggressor actually works for them,” Kempker said.

The teachers also focus on crime prevention and how to avoid becoming a victim.

“(We’re) teaching these girls how to recognize these situations and how to avoid them before anything goes too far,” Gettler said. “And then if it does end up in that situation, (we want) to be able to teach them how to get out of it.”