Donna Burgan wants to arm every woman with a weapon of awareness."No woman needs to be a victim," said Burgan, owner of Hambden's Safe &…
Donna Burgan wants to arm every woman with a weapon of awareness.
“No woman needs to be a victim,” said Burgan, owner of Hambden’s Safe & Secure Self Defense. “The best defense is prevention. In the world we live in today, women need to have some type of self defense training. Last year alone it was documented that 20 million women were attacked in the United States alone.”
Burgan, a certified self-defense instructor, is on a mission to educate women in becoming safer along with her daughter, Keli Boatwright, of Burton, an assistant instructor, who runs Safe & Secure Self Defense classes.
Self-defense is a set of awareness, assertiveness, verbal confrontational skills, safety strategies and physical techniques that enable someone to successfully prevent, escape, resist and survive violent assaults.
The mother and daughter teamed up in April of 2013 to begin teaching the classes in the spacious basement of Burgan’s home near the corner of state Route 6 and Old State Road.
“I cannot say enough about how pleased both my daughter and I are to learn from Donna,” Chardon’s Susan Stacho said.
Stacho took classes along with her daughter before the then incoming freshman left for college.
According to statistics from The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, rape is the most common violent crime on American college campuses, with one occurring every 21 hours.
“Donna taught us from the most basic to very intense techniques to use in any event of an encounter,” Stacho said. “I felt much more at ease sending my daughter away, off to college, out of state knowing she was trained by Donna.”
Instruction includes close-range, mid-range and long-range defense and appropriate actions based on how far away the attacker is from you, vulnerable points, basic blocks and deflects, and how everything can be a weapon including cell phones, water bottles and keys.
A dummy named Bob, used as a potential attacker, allows participants to practice some of the moves, like striking vulnerable places on the body such as the groin.
“It’s great. We have a good time,” said Boatwright last Thursday while standing steps away from a framed photograph of American martial artist Chuck Norris.
“She probably watched each of his movies about 20 times,” Boatwright said, of her mom’s affinity toward the “Walker, Texas Ranger” television and movie star.
“He’s my hero,” Burgan chimed in.
“Women are not stronger than men, most that is,” she added. “Our program is about teaching self-defense and not about winning a fight. If attacked, the goal is to get away as quickly and as safely as possible.”
Troy’s Laura Bartchak is a graduate of the course.
“I often am ministering on streets in the inner city and am much more confident that I have been equipped and trained should a situation arise where my safety is compromised,” Bartchak said.
Until you know someone is not a threat, that person is a threat, Burgan said.
“Eye contact is very important. Walk with your head up and be aware when you are talking on your cell phones,”?she said.
According to the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, self-defense training can increase your options and help you prepare responses to slow down, de-escalate or interrupt an attack. Like any tool, the more you know about it, the more informed you are to make a decision and to use it.
“Our big hope is we want women to be prepared in an instance so they don’t become a victim,” Burgan said. “The best defense is prevention.”
Safe & Secure Classes begin the first Tuesday of every month and run for four weeks, with about four different start times.
A session lasts from one hour to one and a half hours and takes a total of four sessions to complete the course. Prices are $65 per person. There are group discounts, one-session refresher courses and opportunities to travel on site to instruct classes of 10 or more. The next class will start on Tuesday, Oct. 6. For information, contact Donna Bergen at 440-537-0485.
