Norfolk martial arts teacher offers free self-protection classes for women
It comes after a serious sexual assault in his village.
Craig Lewis, who owns Life Skillz and Martial Arts in Fakenham, decided to see whether any women would be interested in free self-protection classes following a serious sexual assault near where he lives in Great Ryburgh recently.
Since then over 600 people have registered an interest for the classes which are due to begin as soon as Covid-19 restrictions allow.
LISTEN: This isn't the first time Craig has run this type of lessons, it's been something he's been doing for years.
Despite the classes proving to be so popular, Craig tells us it's a bit bittersweet.
He said: "It's great that people are interested but also awful that we live in an environment where 622 plus people feel that they need to take some kind of self-protection training, that's not a good sign in my opinion."
The classes cover a range of different situations, including self-protection while standing and while on the ground.
Craig said: "We start from the standing position, and should things go wrong being able to deal with it on the ground as well.
"But also a massive part of what we teach is situation awareness because at the end of the day the best fight in the world is the one you don't have to have."
He told us that a large part of defending yourself actually isn't about being physical.
"Your self-protection realistically should be about 10% physical.
"The rest of it is more situational awareness and mental ability, if you're looking confident the chances are you're gonna be left alone anyway.
"Unfortunately bullies and predators they tend to attack targets they feel that they can dominate."
Craig's top tips for self-protection:
We asked Craig what his top tips would be for someone who wants to know more about self-protection.
- Be aware of your surroundings when leaving the house to avoid being caught off guard
- Soft targets - contrary to common belief Craig suggested that kicking a man between the legs is not as effective as many think. He suggested areas including eyes, thumbs, neck are more likely to stop someone in their tracks.
If you are interested in getting involved in one of Craig's sessions you can register an interest on his Facebook page: Life Skills/ martial arts Fakenham.