West Madison karate dojo owner states the importance of self-defense

MADISON, Ala. (WAFF) - On Monday evening the body of a Memphis mom of two, Eliza Fletcher was found. Fletcher had been reported missing on Friday, September 2 after she did not return from her morning jog.

The kidnapping alert that was put out by the Memphis Police Department was canceled on Tuesday morning once she was identified.

This case brings up the conversation of knowing self-defense when it comes to going for a walk or running by yourself.

West Madison Tiger Rock owner Jake Simmons believes that everyone should know how to defend themselves in the event they become a target.

“Self-defense classes for women, girls and for anybody, in general, is extremely important,” Simmons said. “The reason being is the world that we live in isn’t always nice, so we like to hope and pray that we never have to use these skills.”

Simmons teaches self-defense classes at his studio and says learning techniques is just the first step to defending yourself from an attacker.

“We start with gross motor skills and then start to refine that skill. The gross motor skill becomes the slap obviously everyone knows how to slap. We take that same skill and refine it to make it a little more deadly,” Simmons said. “That slap starts to turn into a palm strike, starts to turn into a punch, which starts to turn into an elbow suddenly these techniques revolving to become even more effective.”

In Simmons’ classes, people of different sizes and genders work together. Simmons says that this way participants can simulate real-world scenarios where weight and height matter in a fight.

“We have a large group of people who train here. We have people bigger that will also implement this skill set that way they get to practice against people in more closer to real-world scenarios,” Simmons said. “That will help duplicate their adrenaline jump that we’re going to have if we ever do need to use that skill set in real life.”

Simmons says in a real-world situation you will not be warned when you’re forced to use your self-defense skills so it is always best to have them sharpened and readily available.

Copyright 2022 WAFF. All rights reserved.