HP_041218

4 | April 12, 2018 | The highland park landmark news
hplandmark.com
Self-defense class prepares
attendees for the worst
Margaret Tazioli
Freelance Reporter
No woman should be
without the basic knowledge
of self-defense, the
movie character Gracie
Hart from “Miss Congeniality”
said.
“If all else fails, go for the
four most sensitive areas of
the body. Just remember to
SING: Solar plexus, instep,
nose, groin,” Hart said as
she demonstrated stepping
on and elbowing her partner
in those four areas.
However, the self-defense
specialist Michael
Theriault, of The Brave
Way, said the infamous
SING method really is ineffective
in practical terms.
Consider an 8-year-old
being assaulted by a grown
man; she wouldn’t be tall
enough to even reach his
nose, he said.
During The Brave Way’s
self defense class at the
West Ridge Center, 636
Ridge Road, Highland
Park, on Saturday, April 7,
Theriault taught a group of
nine community members
finger locks, ear locks and
some simple strikes that
he says are very effective
techniques for people of
any size and in almost any
situation.
One of the participants,
Natalie Sorensen, said, “I
lived in Chicago and some
stuff went down that made
me feel uncomfortable,
so I think it’s important to
be safe because you never
know.”
The two hours were
filled with kicks and giggles
while the participants
practiced thwarting a theoretical
attacker.
Charity Johns and Alethea
Hoyte-Johns, a mother-daughter
duo, practiced
the finger twists and tossing
each other to the floor,
laughing the whole time.
Theriault, a technology
professional by trade and
former chief operating officer,
has a passion for
martial arts and has been
teaching people to defend
themselves for more than
17 years.
He and his friend were
training in martial arts
nearly two decades ago
when they decided to develop
a simple program for
their daughters and wives.
Then Theriault realized
he could make a business
out of it.
Soon enough, he developed
a program for police
officers and taught a
Please see Defense, 12
Brooke Eliacin, 9, of Highland Park, works her way out
of a her mother, Amy’s, headlock. Claire Esker/22nd
Century Media
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