Heliopolis writer Candace D. Gahan knows self-defense.

According to Protectyourhome.com, up to 2,775 homes are invaded each year in Shreveport, a much higher number than the national average. Since we can’t all afford to recreate a security system like Ethan Hawke’s character in The Purge (2013), we have to find other ways to defend ourselves and our families.

Jeremy Haas of ARCS Self-Defense & Combative in downtown Shreveport has one solution.

Krav Maga (pronounced Krauv Meh-gah) is a form of self-defense and physical training first developed by the Israeli army in the 1940s based on the use of reflexive responses to threatening situations (Merriam-Webster). A defense centered around targeting the anatomical weak points of the human body, Krav Maga is one of the best self-defense methods for women, because it doesn’t require too much strength.

Krav is all about working smarter, not harder.

Haas holds a free seminar once every quarter, focusing on various scenarios in which self defense would be necessary. I attended one of these seminars about a year ago, when the scenario was rape-prevention.

I was pleasantly surprised to see women from all walks of life in attendance when I arrived. Some had, I learned, become victims at one point in their lives, others were there for support, and some were there simply because they thought it would be fun.

Everyone found their partner, something I didn’t bring to class, so I was paired with an adorable mother who had brought her two junior high daughters as a mother-daughter bonding trip. She was spirited, her ninety pound frame slightly terrifying as she performed attacks for me to defend against. In those two hours I learned how to defend against a knife attack, someone grabbing me from behind, and how to unarm an attacker with a pistol at close-range. By the end of the seminar we were besties, and I couldn’t wait to come to another class.

I returned a month later for an actual class, and it was maybe the most fun I’ve ever had. Partnered up again, this time with a young lady of about eighteen, we were taught more methods to defend against knife attacks, an armed assailant, and how to grapple using simple Jiu Jitsu. After about an hour and a half of learning technique, Haas brought out the pads, and it was time to get in The Circle.

It’s like Duck, Duck, Goose meets Fight Club. 

One person gets in the center for sixty seconds, and Haas goes around tapping people on the shoulder. When he taps your shoulder, you shove the person in the center with your pad, and they have to defend themselves, pushing back their assailants. After 40 seconds I was exhausted, but others encouraged me to keep fighting. By 50 seconds I could barely lift my arms to weakly flail them at my attackers, but Rule #1 is you can’t stop fighting. I felt like a damn warrior when I left that evening.

ARCS will be hosting this quarter’s free seminar on Saturday, June 21, from 10 A.M. – 12 P.M. at 411 Lake St. in downtown Shreveport. If you would like to sign up, visit http://www.arcsselfdefense.com/self-defense-seminar-june-21/,or call (318) 200-0890.