Local women learn self-defense in weekly seminar

RIO RANCHO — Sometimes, the most powerful way a woman can escape from the hands of a man is to simply yell, “Stop!” martial arts instructor Hank Minitrez told a small group of women at The Hub on March 21. 

But other times, he said, the time for “rules and pleasantries” goes out the window. 

Minitrez, along with his instructional partner,Hellen Hong, taught women the basics of self-defense during an introductory three-hour seminar meant to empower women to take action in public, whether they are on their own or with an intimate partner.

“In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to teach this,” Minitrez, a black belt master, said during the seminar.

The seminar comes at a time when sexual and other forms of physical violence are still prevalent, according to Minitrez and Hong, who cited figures from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network during a presentation. Nearly every minute, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted, and nearly a quarter of all sexual assaults occur in a public place, according to RAINN.

For Hong, a Santa Fe-based instructor who began teaching self-defense after enrolling in a class, the notion that women might have to defend themselves at any time is all too real.

“Until we teach our boys and men not to be predators, we will need to teach our girls and women to be able to defend themselves,” Hong said. 

She added that assault can happen to anyone, including the elderly and children, though the most common age group, she said, is young adults. Fifty-four percent of sexual violence victims are ages 18-34, according to RAINN. 

Rio Rancho resident Jessica Moya, 34, said she wants to sharpen her self-defense skills both as a woman and as a crisis clinician with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Saturday marked her second seminar under Minitrez. 

“I think it’s helpful just to have some skills because you never know what can happen,” Moya said. “The more practice (I get), the more I feel confident. That’s why I keep coming back.”

Albuquerque resident Marlyne Gentry, 67, who took martial arts when she was in high school, said that it’s important for women to take care of themselves because they can’t predict what situations they will find themselves in.

“If you’ve got some tools to hit  somebody in the face or kick, you can get out of the situation,” Gentry said. 

With statistics in mind, the group of more than a dozen women, spanning all ages, learned on Saturday about the two types of perpetrators: the ones they know and the ones they don’t. Seventy-five percent of attackers are ones known by the survivor, according to Minitrez.

Women used part of the seminar to share stories of being attacked.

“I’m glad you shared because it only illustrates the realism — it does happen,” Minitrez said during the seminar. 

He taught women different types of self-defense techniques, including wrist release, as well as choke and bear hug escape. 

“The goal is to survive and get home — not to win a fight,” Minitrez said.

Incorporating Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he also taught women different techniques if a perpetrator forces them onto the ground. Minitrez told participants Saturday that women are often in the strongest position to fend off an attacker this way, since they have use of their hips and legs.

“Are we going to stay on our backs all day long? Minitrez asked seminar participants. “No!” they responded. 

“We need to get back on our feet,” Minitrez said during the seminar.

The “fun part” of the seminar, Minitrez said, was letting participants practice defense techniques with one another. Numerous women laughed with their sparring partners throughout the seminar, and others issued compliments. Moya likened it to children learning through play. 

“If you play with it … like a piece of Play-Doh, I think you’re more likely to retain the information you gather,” she said. 

By the end of the seminar, Moya felt strong.

 “Using our voice and our body posture — all of that creates this energy that I can feel that says, ‘I have the power to defend myself, and I’m not going to be an easy target,’” she said.