Neighbor News
Trenton and Downriver Area Soroptimists Learn Self-Defense
Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy Instructs Local Women
In lieu of a usual second meeting of the month, the women decided to take a class in self-defense at the Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy of Michigan in Southgate. Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art form that encompasses holds and throws to subdue an opponent.
Linda Crisi, membership chairperson and former president, contacted her niece, Dana Crisi, to set up meeting. Dana started taking jiu-jitsu classes in 2015. She currently holds a brown belt and is very close to achieving her black belt. Dana has had two MMA cage fights, as well as competing in some jiu-jitsu tournaments.
Dana assisted the instructor, black belt Dave Gomez, in showing the class of women-only maneuvers of self-defense. The participating women had hands-on instruction with reasons for each move.
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Says Dave, “The art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is taught to military personnel, law enforcement, and women's support groups throughout the world. It is designed to help the weaker, or smaller person, to defend themselves against larger and stronger opponents, which is perfect for a female self-defense program. It not only covers what to do in an actual situation, but how to prevent those situations as well as de-escalate them should they present themselves. At Royce Gracie AOM, we have events and classes for just women, and we pride ourselves on an inclusive, kind, and safe environment for women to learn, test, and train not only self-defense, but jiu-jitsu as well.”
The Trenton and Downriver Area Soroptimist organization meets on the second Tuesday of the month at the Woodhaven Community Center, and the fourth Tuesday at various local restaurants. All women are welcome to attend. You may contribute to the foundations that the Soroptimists support on krogercommunityrewards.com. If you are interested in learning more about the Trenton and Downriver Area Soroptimists and our other activities, check out our page on Facebook@SoroptimistInternationalOfTrentonAndDownriverArea or sioftrentonanddownriverarea@gmail.com.
