Bloomingdale gets into the art of self-defense
Drops of sweat trickling down her face, Amanda Poreda practiced with the tools she had just been given.
Over and over, the Addison mother of two children went for her attacker's eyes, throat, groin and shins. Her tools came in the form of the knowledge of where and how to strike.
Her self-defense instructor, Dustin Keith at the Elite Defense Martial Arts Center in Bloomingdale, advised her to keep a few words in mind.
"You may get tunnel vision. Your heart is pumping and your brain is not thinking."
But fight, he urged, fight until you're free to flee and practice your moves so you don't forget.
Poreda was one of less than a dozen females to partake in a self-defense seminar Saturday at the Bloomingdale studio during a miniature martial arts fest.
It featured a child safety seminar, self-defense classes for adults, Brazilian jiujitsu training and a two-hour grapple-athon.
Visitors only had to make a donation to participate in these seminars that normally cost much more money. All proceeds from the event benefited St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which specializes in research and treatment for catastrophic diseases and pediatric cancer in children.
Poreda came to the event with her daughter, 5-year-old Elexa. Even though Elexa has been taking self-defense classes at the Bloomingdale studio for about six months, her mother insisted she partake in Saturday's children's safety seminar.
"I think it's a good idea, especially with all the weirdos out there," Poreda said.
While there, Poreda spontaneously decided to take the women's self-defense class.
She walked away knowing the correct way to head-butt an attacker. She learned to punch with her elbow rather than her fist. She memorized the attack zones.
But Poreda realizes that practicing these tools would empower her much more and is considering further study.
Keith and fellow instructor Nik Farooqui both said that these seminars are designed to give visitors a few basic tools for self-defense. People will not walk away ready for a fight. Both instructors encouraged further study.
"If you come once you become aware of it," Keith said. "But you want to train, like with anything else."
The martial arts studio, 215 E. Lake St.,. organizes miniature martial arts festivals featuring low-cost seminars a few times a year -- generally to benefit a charity. This year, they hope to raise roughly $5,000 for the hospital. Otherwise, the studio offer self-defense classes Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.