Leave it to a group of young martial arts aficionados to make what is typically a heavy, sensitive topic fun.
On an otherwise gloomy Saturday, a half dozen girls from BAM, the Better Attitude Makers Martial Arts studio, lit up the Woman’s Club of Laurel with lessons in self defense that are particularly salient during October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
During the hour-long program, the young students became the teachers, leading club members in a series of stretches, warmups and exercises that made them more confident in their bodies and abilities.
The participants laughed as they learned how to jab, block and escape a chokehold. But as Lorraine Kelly, president of the club warned, the consequences can be deadly when women don’t have self defense skills. She described a number of incidents that made the news and told the women that even if domestic violence hasn’t impacted their lives, it could easily come to their neighbor next.
Four out of 10 women in Maryland have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in 2010, according to the state health department. And in 2023, the Maryland Network against Domestic Violence found that 38 Marylanders lost their lives to domestic violence.
“Learning how to protect yourself is a way to feel safer,” 14-year-old Micah Draper told the group. She has been a martial arts student for the past nine years. “For me personally, self defense is a part of life. The more you do it, the more it becomes a part of you.”
When one participant worried “I’m not strong enough” for a particular move, the girls coaxed her through it, applauding as she successfully thwarted a would-be attacker.
“You don’t have to be heroic,” Draper said, noting that it’s more important to get out of a situation alive, she said. Although many of the girls have learned how to attack an aggressor, they all said it was better to de-escalate a situation and, if necessary, run away.
Then she offered the group a sober reminder.
“Sometimes the people that will hurt you are people that are close to you. It’s not always a stranger down the street,” she said. It’s important, yes, to trust people, but also to know that if, God forbid, they turn on you, you’re able to defend yourself.”
Kelly said she learned a lot from the training and hopes participants will remember skills if they ever need to defend themselves. City Councilmember Christine Johnson (At-Large) said the training felt particularly relevant, given the way the world is changing. And Gena Wade, a 30-year Laurel resident who works for the city’s parks and recreation department, said she wanted to feel safer when volunteering at night.
“Today was awesome,” Wade, 56, said, adding that she already made plans to go to another BAM class.
In Laurel, there are also several resources that residents can turn to HopeWorks of Howard County’s helpline (410.997.2272) volunteers can connect individuals to legal services and an emergency shelter.
In Brentwood, Prince George’s County Family Crisis Center and Shelter offers a variety of intervention programs, group counseling, legal assistance and short-term shelter.
A map of additional organizations can be found at mnadv.org/get-help/domestic-violence-service-providers/
The Woman’s Club of Laurel, which has about 54 members, holds an in-service day each year. While this year centered on domestic violence, last year’s focus was food insecurity. The group packaged 142 sandwiches for Elizabeth House, a kitchen and food pantry operated by FISH of Laurel. October is membership month and the group will meet as usual on the first Thursday.
