BECKY ZIMMER
News Writer

Saskatoon may seem like a small, safe city to live in, but crime is still an issue.

In their 2009 annual report, the Saskatoon Police reported over 4,000 crimes against a person in the city. These include assault, sexual violation and criminal harassment or stalking.

According to the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre, they have provided 500 new clients with abuse assistance from April 2007 to March 2008. Of those 500 clients, 424 are female.

In Charge empowers women to take charge

Clay McNally, of women’s self defence program In Charge, instructs busy women on how to protect themselves in dangerous situations. McNally has been training in martial arts since he was five years old, and has gone through training with the RCMP. He understands the demands of a busy life, and In Charge offers drop-in classes to help.

“Normal martial arts programs charge $110 and you have to come Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but that is unrealistic for women with busy schedules.”

They also teach private classes through businesses, schools and community groups, offered for men and women across the city and surrounding area.

Using this knowledge and expertise in self defence, McNally has designed the class to provide quick and effective training to get the most out of an hour of instruction. This makes the class informative and enjoyable.

“We never have a set program. It’s based a lot on what [the student] wants to learn and how quickly [the student] learns. We base our program around the women, not around us.”

McNally and his assistant Jessica Hamel provide an informal, comfortable environment for women to learn how to throw punches and kicks and even how to disarm attackers of guns and knives. They have seen apprehensive women who are uncomfortable at first throwing punches at their dummy, Bob, but get more comfortable as they gain confidence in their skills.

In situations where women need to defend themselves, the key is for them to stay calm, look compliant and catch their attacker off guard.

McNally, who is not a big guy, designs the program for smaller people. In his RCMP training he had to take on people bigger than he is.

“You have to rely on pressure points, holds and moving your body so that the smallest of people can beat the bigger person,” said McNally.

Smaller classes also provide more one-on-one time with McNally and Hamel, who are able to watch and correct improper stance or technique. McNally or Hamel are at the receiving end of most of the punches and kicks that they teach, or watching closely as Bob’s big form takes the hits to ensure all the students can practice on real people.

RAD is back through Campus Rec

Started in 1994 and disbanded in 2007, Rape Aggression Defence is back on campus and is now being offered through Campus Rec. Courses are taught by certified RAD instructors to bring awareness to the dangers that a woman can face every day while walking home, going to her car or walking home from the bus stop.

Risk prevention and risk avoidance provide a focus to the classes besides teaching hands-on defence techniques for when approached by an attacker. Class sizes never exceed 12 women to keep courses small and informal. Ten instructors are trained on campus by Campus Security staff, and manuals are provided for easy reference.

RAD could no longer be run through Campus Security with the funding that was available. Now the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union, the President’s Advisors Council on the Status of Women and Student and Enrolment Services Division are providing help with funding to keep the program can available.

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image: Pete Yee