The Icon spoke with Gennifer Akroyd, Mount Cory, who teaches self-defense classes and sells Damsel in Defense products. She is offering a self-defense class Oct. 15 at BFR. See details at end of story.

Tell us a bit about Damsel in Defense.



Damsel in Defense is about equipping women with the tools to not only keep them safe but also to give them the confidence to know that they have a way out if they ever feel threatened. We are very excited about our affordable and adorable line of products. Whether you are at home or traveling, running or celebrating downtown with the girls, Damsel in Defense has the products and fact-based education that can and does save lives.



Everything we sell is classified as a non-lethal form of self-defense.  This is very important as women tend to be nurturing by their very nature and would hesitate to use a lethal form of self-defense, even when their very lives are threatened.  When you carry and are trained in the use of non-lethal self-defense, you no longer have to think this way as you are not ending a life to defend yourself.... instead you might be saving your own.



Damsel in Defense is a two-year-old company started by two moms in Idaho who were looking for non-lethal forms of protection.  I share my products through home parties -- like Tupperware  -- but with a bit more kick. I realized early on that I didn't have the time to really teach a very hands-on type of training in my parties. I was getting requests daily for a class to pass on the knowledge from my training and experiences, so I put together the two-hour self-defense class based on those requests. 



How and why did you get started in this business?

I started with Damsel in Defense as an Independent Representative in March of 2013, after a scary incident at a hotel with my family.  My husband was pushing me to get my conceal carry permit to defend myself and our two young children while out and about without him.  I was hesitant because I knew that I would be that woman who would hesitate to pull a trigger and I was uncomfortable with the thought of carrying a loaded gun around with my children. 

I also teach at a college and my campus is a gun-free zone.  I looked into non-lethal forms of defense and came across Damsel.  I signed up the next day and I've never looked back. 

In addition to that event, I was also personally attacked 16 years ago.  I had taken a self-defense class prior to my attack and I fought back.  My attacker had intended for me to become his victim.  Instead I am a survivor. 

The strangest part of my attack was actually my thought process as it was happening to me.  I actually believed it was a friend playing a joke on me until my attacker made it clear that he had ill intentions towards me.  I think it was a form of denial at the time... but even so, this makes my belief in non-lethal forms of self-defense even more firm. 



What is your professional background?



My attack made me even more intent on learning ways to defend myself better.  Over the course of the last 16 years I have personally taken over 25 self-defense classes to make sure that if I ever found myself in that situation again, I would know what to do. 

I have become a bit of a self-defense specialist through these trainings.  I am a Technical Scuba Instructor as well as a personal trainer.  I have taken the training philosophies I learned to teach Scuba and Fitness and applied them to the knowledge I have acquired through my self-defense trainings to teach these classes.  



Your goal is to help women be prepared to defend themselves against attackers. As a sort of community service, you offer periodic self-defense classes. How have you trained for these classes? What do women learn? Are these "down and dirty" classes?



The problem I find with most self-defense classes are that they are conducted by people trained in martial arts.  They have trained for years to gain their skills.  Many of them have trouble bringing it down to a level that most women could remember in a panic situation.  I am very respectful of the dedication they commit to learning their skills.  Unfortunately, most women are busy and do not have the years it takes to learn self-defense this way.  The classes I teach are "down & dirty".  

I teach very basic moves and I only train moves that can cover multiple scenarios and the most common types of attacks.  I also teach awareness and avoidance techniques, as avoiding a problem is the best defense.  

When I conduct a two-hour class, it is "hands-on" and I keep it to a few basic and simple moves that can be used in multiple situations.  Then we practice those moves to train their muscles to reflexively respond. 



What are some of the statistics about women being victimized? How do the national statistics compare to local and/or statewide?


In the USA, one in five women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes.  College age women are four times more likely to be assaulted.  Every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted.  One aggravated assault occurs every 35 seconds.



What reasons do women give when they sign up? Have many been victimized?



I know there are women behind those numbers.  I meet them when I'm out; they call me and share their stories. Some stories are of survival and to be celebrated, others are from family members telling me about women who now live shattered lives due to violent crime.  



You and your husband lived elsewhere before settling around here, correct? How did that impact what you teach women about being prepared?



I was raised in this area but I have lived and traveled all over the world.  In some of those places, crime is a way of life instead of a slight possibility.  When I lived in South Africa, we lived in a compound, guarded by an armed guard with an electrified barbed wire fence to protect us.  There, the statistics are one in three women will be attacked and home invasions are very common.  

You learn very quickly in that environment to form a safety mindset.  I sometimes think women are safer there than in some areas around here.  At least there, you know the risk is real and you can prepare for it.

Many women in our local area live in the false reality that it can't happen to them here.  The truth is it can happen anywhere.  The best way to be prepared is to understand that and have a plan.  I'm not talking about living in fear... it's understanding that danger is real but that by having a plan to handle it, you don't have to live in fear.  It's about Empowering, Educating and Equipping women to go about their lives, knowing they are prepared to handle any situation. 



How may women contact you about your products and taking a self-defense class?



My next class is being held at Bluffton Family Recreation, from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday,  October 15.  The cost to attend is $10 and a pepper spray is included in the cost upon the completion of the class.  Reservations can be made at BFR, or by contacting me directly at 419-351-5815 or [email protected].  I also have a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Damsel.Gen) where I post information about my classes and products.  If you are interested in ordering my products, orders can be placed directly through my website at www.mydamselpro.net/Gen.  When ordering to support the BFR fundraiser, please click the "BFR Self Defense Class" to place orders.