Local martial arts center teaching women how to prepare for the unexpected

In hopes of helping people not fall victim to assault, one local martial arts center is teaching women how to prepare for the unexpected.

Saturday morning,  kicks were thrown and hands went up. This was all part of a self-defense workshop for women.

Mike Otwell, the owner of Infinity Martial Arts says, "a big part of self-defense is not being a victim."

Otwell tells us this workshop got started after a few women expressed interested.

"They said I have some ladies that don't necessarily want to roll round everyday, but they want some more specific defensive things," says Otwell.

Soon after, Otwell and Nicole Burrell began planning a self- defense class geared towards women. Burrell tells us she was inspired after seeing her own children learn tae kwon do.

"My kids have been training for a few years  so I thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together and do a self- defense  class since I am a domestic  violence survivor," says Burrell.

Using her past experience, Burrell wants to encourage other women to take self-defense classes as a way to prepare for the unexpected. Otwell says it starts with acknowledging that they can be faced with life threatening situations. Which is why during his class he teaches women how to make it out safely in real life scenarios such as being pulled from behind, choked, and attacked.

"What I'm teaching is to prepare yourself  for the situation beforehand, that you're just not reacting to whatever you think is going to happen," says Otwell.

Otwell tells us the goal is for these classes to improve women's chances of survival. He says one way that can be achieved is by frequently practicing these techniques.

"I have a little saying, moves don't work, repetition does.  I can show you a move and you can practice that move, but to understand the move  and to understand the steps that are involved and how to do it in the high-stress situation is where repetiveness comes into play," says Otwell.

Self-defense for women classes are taught the last Saturday of each month, for more information on Infinity Martial Arts click here.