COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The free women's self-defense seminar takes place Saturday, Feb. 24 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Brazos Valley MMA, located at the River Oaks Mall in College Station.
- The Gym has offered free seminar classes since 2023 due to increased sexual assault cases in the area to help the community have self-defense skills.
- BVMMA hopes to increase awareness to the community about the importance of having these skills in case they have to use them.
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“Most of the time, self-defense is just a fight you do not want to be in,” Maggie Loop said.
For Loop, wanting to defend herself came from attending school after dark.
“I was walking to my car at 10 p.m. at night and growing up learning the skills I know now, I felt better doing that,” Loop said.
And she isn't alone. Many women feel unprepared to defend themselves.
But self-defense coaches like Dimitri Westbrook said it just takes practice.
“We saw a need for self-defense in the community when sexual assaults, in complaint of it, were pretty much rising in our community so, when there’s issues like that — if we have the answer, we’d love to serve it,” Westbrook said.
According to the University of Texas at Dallas, two our of five women in Texas reported a sexual assault among the ages of 18 through 24, in 2023.
Here’s how those numbers measure locally:
- SARC helped 490 survivors, 337 of which, were in Brazos County.
- Bryan Police Department reported 60 sexual assaults.
- College Station Police Department reported 96.
Westbrook said his classes incorporate Mixed Martial Arts and Jiu-Jitsu.
“We’re going to utilize certain techniques that are easy and applicable to any human being,” Westbrook said.
And for Loop, she wants to encourage other women not to be afraid.
“Being able to feel safe in your own home, in your own neighborhood, in your own town, is what we are trying to spread at this moment and not just to the small amount of members here but the whole community," Loop said.
The free women's self-defense seminar takes place Saturday, Feb. 24 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Brazos Valley MMA, located at the River Oaks Mall in College Station.