Students learn self-defense

Matt Wilkinson doubled over in mock pain as Girls Fight Back speaker Bree Swartz demonstrated a knee jab to his groin.

Swartz proceeded to pretend knee Wilkinson in the face and elbow strike his spine.

“That, my friends, is the bad-ass ballet,” Swartz said to the audience Tuesday evening in the Indiana Memorial Union Whittenberger Auditoritum.

Union Board, Gamma Phi Omega and Residential Programs and Services sponsored the Girls Fight Back event.

Wilkinson, Union Board director of campus and community engagement, said he was glad to be a dummy for the demonstration and helped plan the event because it is “a good program to empower girls on campus and teach them to live without fear.”

Girls Fight Back is a 90-minute presentation aiming to educate girls about personal safety and self-defense. Erin Weed, an Eastern Illinois University graduate, founded GFB after her sorority sister Shannon McNamara died in a break-and-enter assault near the campuson June 12, 2001.

After McNamara died, Weed decided to become certified in several self-defense systems and began teaching others the skills. From there, Girls Fight Back evolved.  

Since 2001, 1 million women nationwide have heard the presentation.

“Traveling around, I’ve learned two things,” said Swartz, an Indiana native. “One, everyone has a story and two, no one’s talking about it.”

With a picture of Chuck Norris behind her on the projection screen, Swartz explained to the crowd how GFB could help them to become their own “best
protector.”

“By the end of today, everyone single one of you will know how to take off your pumps and beat someone with it,” she said.

Swartz explained the importance of listening to one’s intuition and being a bad victim, making it difficult for an assailant to attack you. She also stressed the importance of being more aware in scenarios where alcohol is present.   

“We need to up the ante a little bit if we decide to be in situations where alcohol is involved,” she said. “Become best friends with your drink. I don’t care if it’s apple juice or gin and juice.”

She brought the audience to their feet to learn self-defense moves from palm jabs to the nose to a booty strike.  Swartz also shared her favorite weapons to use during an attack — her keys and her cell phone.

The audience laughed at Swartz’s frequent jokes, but also understood the gravity of her message.

“It kind of gives you insight as to what you can do as a female,” sophomore Lexi Strafford said. “It was empowering to know what we are capable off.”

Freshman Tali Navaaro also said she felt better educated after the presentation.

“I do feel powerful,” Navaaro said. “I definitely learned a lot of basic moves, nothing complicated.”

True to her word, Swartz taught the audience to use their high-heels as a self defense weapon. The audience moaned as she explained how to jab the heel in an attackers eye and “jiggle it around.”

“There is nothing more dangerous than an angry woman,” Swartz said.