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Chicago-based self-defense group holds workshop in Delphi

DELPHI, Ind. (AP) - If you found yourself a victim of an attack, what would you do? That was the question of the day Sunday morning at the Wabash and Erie Canal Interpretive Center in Delphi, as 60 women and young girls came together to learn self-defense maneuvers that might one day save their lives.

The self-defense workshop comes just two months after the deaths of Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, which police are investigating as a double homicide.

The two Delphi teenagers were on co-organizer Joanne Germond's mind when she decided to coordinate the free event. All of the workshop's proceeds go toward the Delphi Trails Security Fund, which will fund installation of cameras at trailheads and marked outposts in case of emergency.

"The whole workshop, after Libby and Abby were murdered, I just had it on my heart to do something that would empower young ladies on up to the oldest woman that wanted to come," she said.

That's exactly what happened on Sunday, also thanks in large part to the One Light Self-Defense Team based out of Chicago. The 12-member self-defense group has traveled the world - particularly India, Africa and Thailand - teaching people how to fight back against personal attacks. On Sunday, the team taught the the workshop participants knee, hand, foot and elbow strikes, as well as release and run strategies.

It's all something that Germond said she hopes will have rippling effects throughout the community.

"I just hope it's like dropping a pebble in the water, and a wave breaks out," she said. "After this workshop, I hope these people can share this with other women too."

Throughout Sunday's three-hour workshop, the women and girls practiced some of the defensive strategies they were learning, but each member of the One Light Self-Defense Team also talked to the audience about everything from parking lot safety to trusting your intuition when a situation feels uncomfortable.

"Evil literally lurks in the darkness," team member Tarne Mixson said, "so always be assertive."

That assertiveness is what compelled Rob Radcliffe to bring his two daughters to Sunday's workshop.

As he watched Hannah, 13, and Chloe, 12, practice deflections a few feet away, Rob opened up about the importance of such training for his daughters.

"I think it's good for them to learn self-defense, especially at a young age," he said. "They can take it with them in high school, in college and throughout life. It's something I can't really teach them."

Across the room, Larissa Smith, 15, Rossville, also stressed the importance of the morning's session.

"It's something that, as I get older, my parents especially think I need to do because I'm going to be out on my own more often now," she said. "But the event that happened (the double homicide), it makes you realize it can happen to anyone and not just in certain places."

Dan McCain, president of the Wabash and Erie Canal Association, said that general awareness was a large reason for Sunday's self-defense workshop.

"The fact is, particularly for women, there needs to be more awareness training and other things to remember when on the trails and in remote areas," he said. "Knowing more about the techniques is very important. What's the first thing you think of when someone comes toward you? Do you have some sort of defense? That's what this workshop highlights."

And though all those interviewed said they hope the women and girls who participated in Sunday's workshop will never have to use the techniques they learned, they all referenced the tragedy that hit the city of Delphi on Feb. 14. But instead of focusing on the grief, One Light Defense Self-Defense Team member Jeanette Brook chose to instead focus on hope.

"We want to see Delphi come together," she said. "You never truly get over something, but I hope this workshop fuels their energy to know they can do something and feel like they've taken back just an ounce of what they've lost."

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Source: (Logansport) Pharos-Tribune, http://bit.ly/2pbaDT1

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Information from: Pharos-Tribune, http://www.pharostribune.com

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