LONGVIEW, Texas — Just days after police say a woman was attacked on a Longview walking trail, local martial arts instructors are offering free self-defense classes to the community.
ProComp Sport Martial Arts co-owners and instructors Clayton Walkins and Joe Johnson want everyone to know how to defend themselves in the event of an attack.
"I feel like everyone should give martial arts a chance, because it's life changing. It definitely is. It shows confidence, focused determination, goal setting skills as well as prevention, awareness. All these different things are all wrapped into one thing," Walkins said. "So our free class is just a way for everyone to come in and just give it a try."
Walkins opened up his dojo to the community to offer free lessons after he learned what happened on Paul G. Boorman Trail last week.
Longview police said Jelan Williams grabbed a woman from behind and tried to cover her mouth last Friday afternoon. She was able to break free and escape.
"(It's a) little bit scarier, probably, for women to walk out into the world compared to men. And so I think it's super important to gain a little bit of knowledge about how we can protect ourselves and how I think it's not even just, I mean, it's the physical moves. It's knowing how to block and how to if you get in a situation like what you can do physically to protect yourself, but it's also how do you carry yourself," martial arts student Kimbriel Dean said.
In response to the attack, Longview police said they would increase patrols along the city's trail systems. But they can't be everywhere, all the time. That's why Johnson said self-defense is critical.
"You can't control every situation, and you don't always know when people are targeting you so taking little tips like this helps you to become less of a target," Johnson said.
Dean added having the tools for self-defense can make a person feel more confident.
"It helps you to know this is how I avoid getting into this kind of situation in the first place," Dean said. "I think that it would be very helpful and always just emotionally, physically, mentally, to feel like you're empowered to handle that kind of situation when you're out there."