In one minute of chaos, Anastasia Kungurova had to fight off two attackers.
She did not expect to be challenged like this in a mock attack during the Women’s Self Defense workshop, held in the Impact Zone Oct. 21.
“It felt like it was a real fight,” said the police foundations student. “Next semester we will be doing similar activities in our gym class now I will know what to expect.”
Kungurova and fellow police foundations classmate, Marissa Mulligan, said they felt that they learned techniques that will be useful during training in their program or in the field.
Both girls agreed that more female students should attend the workshop when it is offered next.
“It may be intimidating, but a lot more girls should participate,” said Mulligan. “You may not think something could happen to you, but it could happen to anyone.”
Kungurova and Mulligan were among 30 participants who attended the class offered exclusively to female students. Susan Pridmore, events and volunteer assistant with the AC Hub, said that it’s not a coincidence that the event is held at this time of year. November is Sexual Assault Awareness month here at the college. “The awareness campaigns will be geared towards representing both male and female students,” said Pridmore. The workshop was one of many events hosted to promote a safe and secure learning environment, gearing up towards November’s awareness month. Sandra Lanois-Bazinet, an Algonquin e-business and supply management graduate, was the instructor of the workshop alongside her colleagues Angelica Leclaire and Steve Bickrim.
Having competed for about 10 years starting with Tarien Jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, Lanois-Bazinet went on to learn various forms of fighting including MMA and Brazilian Jui-jitsu. During her learning process, she wanted to help other females learn how to defend themselves.
“If someone remembers one thing from tonight that’s all that matters,” said Lanois-Bazinet. “It’s all about your mindset and being self-aware.” Lanois-Bazinet has run in to females with a negative outlook and doubt surrounding self defense seminars. To convince them, she decided to encourage Bickrim, her male training partner, to assist her with the class to help show how simple techniques can work no matter how small you are.
“The more you train and the more you practice the more you will react,” said Lanois-Bazinet.