With increased interest in self-defense classes, instructors focus on situational awareness

Fourth-degree black belt Bob Makowski doesn’t mind scaring students in his self-defense classes.

The harder he grabs their attention, he said, the better chance they learn tools that can thwart danger.

“About 65% of assaults occur with someone you know and also happen indoors,” said Makowski, owner of a martial arts studio in Clinton Township, Butler County. “You don’t have to be a vigilante, but you want to be aware.”

Experts across the region say they are seeing an uptick in people looking to bolster their self-confidence and response capabilities.

At ATA Martial Arts in Greensburg, owner Chris Martin said he has seen an increase in the past year in the number of parents who seek self-defense classes for their children. Martin said he also gets many requests from softball teams, Girl Scouts and other teen groups.

Martin, a fourth-degree black belt, said he coaches students on how not to become a victim. For everyone with their head buried in a phone, “know what’s around you,” he said.

By the numbers

Crime statistics gathered by the state during the first half of 2023 show a downward trend for murders, rapes, robberies and cases of simple assault. But aggravated assaults are on track to outpace last year’s total.

There were about 12,600 aggravated assault cases reported last year in Pennsylvania, according to the Uniform Crime Reporting program. Police departments have received reports of about 7,800 aggravated assault cases this year.

Police reported handling about 79,400 cases of simple assault in the state in 2022 compared with about 29,000 such cases this year, according to the crime report.

Violence can strike men and women, according to RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.

Women ages 18 to 24 are at an elevated risk of sexual violence, and college-age male students are 78% more likely than nonstudents of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault, according to the group’s website.

Instructors all said the same thing: The No. 1 lesson in self-defense is prevention.

“Response is important, but learning to set boundaries and say no are far more important than the punching and kicking,” said Sensai Joe Cooper, a third-degree brown belt and co-owner of Shaolin Studios in Pittsburgh’s Regent Square neighborhood. “If you look at statistics, these instances happen mostly with someone who you know. Situational awareness is extremely important.”

According to a University of Oregon study, women trained in self-defense are more confident in their ability to confront an attacker.

Building confidence leads to feeling more capable in potentially dangerous situations and can lead to being able to detect warning signs of assault, according to the study.

Shaolin Studios along South Braddock Avenue is one of only a few in the city certified in empowerment-based self-defense by the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation. Cooper and other instructors offer short one-night sessions and a longer series of 10. Students are usually 16 and older.

When he takes his classes on the road to the University of Pittsburgh, Cooper said, there are always more female students who attend.

Makowski is offering a free, 90-minute class Wednesday sponsored by Allegheny-Kiski Health Foundation in Harrison. It will be at the foundation’s headquarters on Acee Drive.

According to Alle-Kiski Health Foundation President John Pastorek, “it’s important for everyone to learn some type of self-defense, including how to avoid dangerous situations.”

“In today’s increasingly violent world, situations can occur unexpectedly, and women, in particular, are often targeted for crimes,” he said.

‘Commonsense awareness techniques’

Pastorek’s nonprofit has collaborated with Makowski in the past for classes on situational awareness, carjacking defense and home invasion safety, all of which align with the mission of the foundation to improve residents’ quality of life.

Seminar participants will learn simple techniques that could buy them a small but vital window of time and space to effectively escape an attacker, Pastorek said.

“Much of the program will provide some commonsense awareness techniques that, if they become habit, will help potential victims avoid dangerous situations in the first place,” he said.

During Makowski’s upcoming session in Harrison, he will focus on “things like not walking alone at night and how to react to situations that come up.”

“I understand that people have a feeling of being able to handle themselves, but you always have to be aware of who you associate with,” he said. “You don’t want to let your guard down.”

Some of Makowski’s tips will target college-age students who will move to campus in August and people who live alone year-round.

He said the incidence of rape for college students is highest between orientation and Thanksgiving.

“I think that kids are not entirely prepared,” Makowski said. “People are looking for new friends, and everything is new. We want to talk a lot about situational awareness and prevention for all ages.”