Ready to Advance: Defense Against an Armed Rapist

Sheila Hickey, graduate of IMPACT Chicago Core Feb 2012

What was your experience in taking the Core this year?

I left this course knowing that I can protect myself and someone I love in the event someone tries to hurt us. I experienced a well structured class that combined demonstrations with experiential learning in the form of modeled muggings.  I felt well supported by the instructors and fellow IMPACT participants who stood next to me offering encouragement. 

What inspired you to take the DAAR?

I wanted to continue to challenge any emotional and physical obstructions I have to protecting myself from a would-be attacker. 

What are your thoughts, feelings about taking the DAAR?

Up until 2 weeks ago I was ambivalent about taking the course, but then I was threatened in front of my home by two men with a baseball bat.  Thankfully, I had a 95 lb protective dog with me who reared up and bared his ferocious self to these two would be attackers.  They ran off being afraid of my dog.  The incident caused me to think, what would I have done if my dog was not with me? 

I feel determined to learn additional skills in self-defense that will enable me to believe in my capacity to defend myself.

What are your feelings about IMPACT programming and self defense in general? 

I love IMPACT.  I know that the teaching methods used to promote muscle memory are effective teaching methods. 

Why is, isn’t it important to you? Others?

It is important to me to believe in my abilities to protect myself.  I believe in my right to defend myself with practical defense techniques that are designed to enhance my physical attributes as a woman.

What do you enjoy most about it?  Least?

I enjoyed having the physical and vocal support of other women during my turn to defend against an attacker.  The simulated attacks felt very real.  I did not anticipate having such strong feelings of fear come up for me.  I was proud of myself that I did not allow the fear to interfere with protecting myself from the attacks.

Sheila is enrolled in IMPACT Chicago’s upcoming advanced program

Defense Against an Armed Rapist taught the first weekend of December on the 1^st and 2^nd. Spanning two consecutive days, with six hours of training each day, this course will cover effective defenses to common attacks with a club, knife, or gun, from the front or the rear, both standing and on the ground.  You must be a graduate of the IMPACT Core program.

IMPACT Chicago: A Collaborative Network

Since its inception, IMPACT Chicago has operated as a network of people working independently and collaboratively to bring self-defense to women and girls in the Chicago area. In May 2012, we hired Julie Curtis as Executive Director. It has not been an easy decision for her to make, but Julie resigned November 6. She handled her resignation as she did her work as Executive Director -- with commitment, professionalism and integrity. Though her role will change, Julie plans to stay involved with IMPACT Chicago.

Julie offered her insight that the job description of Executive Director does not reflect how IMPACT Chicago actually works. The Board of Directors is examining ways to create an administrative approach where there is a stronger fit between our formal organization and the work being done. At its December meeting, the Board of Directors will discuss a proposal for addressing the issues Julie raised. In the meantime, almost all of our ongoing work is being temporarily covered. If you have questions or concerns, please email Lisa Amoroso, Board Secretary, who has volunteered to be the point-person for directing people to the best person to answer specific questions. You can reach Lisa at board@impactchicago.org.

Thinking It Through Made Him Think Twice

Monday night, hungry after class, I stopped by the drug store in my neighborhood. As I pulled up on my bike, I noticed a man hanging around the entrance. I thought he was going to ask me a question, but he seemed to change his mind. I assumed he was waiting for someone. Yet something about his body language drew my curiosity. The nosier I became, the more he turned away from me. He seemed aimless, yet expectant. And I wondered, is this guy waiting for me to turn my back to spring?

I checked my bike and I fiddled around with my helmet, taking my time to suss him out. If he planned on mugging me, I wanted to face him. I wanted to see him coming. I wanted it to happen on my own time, and not by surprise. I wanted to look him in the eye.

After half-a-minute, the moment had passed. I decided he wasn’t going to do anything. He had receded deeply into the shadows. My bike was firmly locked up (twice!). I went into the store with no thought now but my empty stomach.

As I approached the counter to pay for my box of Kraft Dinner (yes, I was desperate), a visibly shaken man rushed into the store and asked to use the phone. Someone had just attempted to mug him a few yards from the entrance. The assailant’s description fit what I had seen, and the mugging was attempted at knife-point and with pepper spray.

So why didn’t the mugger attack me? Who knows?! But I know what I did: I stood my ground. I looked. I assessed. By taking my time, by owning my space, I let him know I controlled this situation. Above all, I listened to my instinct and I didn’t dismiss it as paranoia. All these things, I learned in my IMPACT class in 1995. My self-defense skills still work, 17 years later. Next time, I will call attention to a creepy person before they have a chance to act, now that I trust my gut feeling. Nine-One-One!

When I graduated from the Core Program, my instructor, Margaret, said “Congratulations! Now that you know how to fight, you might not have to do it.” In this case, she was right: the other self-defense skills I’d learned stood me in good stead, preventing the need for full-impact self-defense. The confidence that I could take him down increased my understanding and awareness of what might be going on. And the evening’s bonus: my bike and I rode home in style, in the squad car.

AC Racette

Running All the Laps of the Relay Race

Since her arrival in June, Julie Curtis (left), incoming Executive Director, has been meeting with Martha Thompson (right), IMPACT Chicago’s long-time Director, to transfer knowledge and carry on the IMPACT Chicago legacy. Together, they further IMPACT’s mission to end violence and build a non-violent world in which all people can live safely and with dignity.

There is much to learn. Julie says: “Martha has 25 years of experience and I am just 4 months into the transition, I estimate that right now I know about 16% of what Martha knows about IMPACT.” Martha says: “No doubt experience matters, but I believe IMPACT will benefit greatly from Julie’s  fresh perspective on how to administratively support the IMPACT Chicago mission.”

In addition to teaching classes on verbal boundary setting and physical self-defense classes, IMPACT also offers workshops in schools, shelters, and workplaces. Julie is getting to know the full range of IMPACT Chicago’s offerings, as well as the general operation of the organization. As part of  becoming the Director, Julie is participating in as many IMPACT programs as she can to understand the IMPACT Chicago approach and to finish the instructor training she started in the DC IMPACT program. Since its start 25 years ago, IMPACT Chicago’s mission has been to bring self-defense training to people of all economic, racial/ethnic, and social groups. Through graduate donations and grants, IMPACT Chicago has a long tradition of bringing programs to people 12-70+ of different economic backgrounds, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. Julie is committed to continuing and expanding this work and plans to reach more youth, women of color, men, the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.

By AC Racette. IMPACT Chicago Assistant Director

The techniques keep working

AC Racette, IMPACT grad 1996

Summer brought a lot of construction to Evanston and Northwestern University. New signs cropped up, traffic was redirected, and we were urged to drive slowly and arm ourselves with patience. Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists can share the road, no?

Not so for a car driver who, oblivious to the new pedestrian-crossing sign on Sheridan Road on the south end of campus, screeched to a halt, just inches from my leg. I was heading home from work, walking over a zebra crossing. For a second, I stood still—not out of fear, but out of surprise. What was this? A torrent of obscenities was pouring out of the car. The driver’s screaming attracted the attention of a half-dozen construction workers. In a second, I thought through all my options: Would he calm down if I stood my ground? Would he dart around me? Would he try to intimidate me by revving his engine? Would an impatient car behind him swerve around and put me in danger if I kept crossing the street? And what could I expect from the construction workers witnessing the situation?

Then after the surprise, the self-preserving anger: How dare this frustrated person put my life in danger? How dare a stranger pour his virulent hatred on me just because I happened to cross the street during his moment of inattention? How dare he be so irresponsible with the safety of so many students and pedestrians? How dare he treat me like dirt with his hateful, sexist speech, when the error was his?

Before IMPACT training, I might have scurried away, mortified by the insults, wondering what I had done wrong. But instead. I found my big voice. I told him the traffic sign applied to him, that he was out of line, and that he should be ashamed of his language. I finished crossing the street, head held high, walking at a stately, steady pace. The motorist peeled off. The construction workers expressed
sympathetic support. Pedestrians shook their heads in disbelief.

I learned that, seventeen years after my IMPACT training, the techniques keep working. I paused without panicking. I assessed the situation. I used the adrenaline as it came up. I acted. I used my voice. I moved calmly to the safety of other people, ready to get help if I needed it.

We live in a world where so many people are at risk for reasons out of their control. We are fortunate: we have access to IMPACT training. One person at a time, IMPACT graduates react to potential violence and abuse, and counter it. If you know someone who might be in my situation one day, do her a favor: tell her about IMPACT. She will thank you.

Looking forward to IMPACT: Josie, Co-founder of Chicago Party Animals (CPA)

Interview by Julie Curtis

I’ll just start with, “Josie’s really cool!” As I walked into the CPA space, it struck me how the place is so  pointedly designed to welcome the humans and animals that come to socialize here. Co-owner, Tim, credits Josie with the CPA vision.

And there she was, completing the presentation: turning chair seats into the space as if to say, “Come in, sit here!” That’s when Mr. Big “pugged” his way over to me.

“Hi, Josie! I’m Julie Curtis from IMPACT Chicago.”
“Hi, Julie! We’re just getting ready for Waggin’ Wednesday; the food trucks, people,
and dogs will all be flooding in after 6pm.”
“Yes, I’m really excited to support The Puppy Mill Project this evening!”

Josie and Mr. Big

“So, how are you feeling about taking IMPACT?”
When I was a kid, I was in karate. I was raised in Gary, and I used to get jumped a lot but my mom put me in Tae Kwon Do [which I ] probably [did] about 6 years, and then I just got away from it, and then I was taking Krav Maga a couple of years, then I was at POW for a little while. I wasn’t consistent with it because I didn’t have a set schedule. Then I saw the [IMPACT] video and I said, you know, let me get back into it
and see what happens. I liked the enthusiasm on the video.

“What are you looking forward to most about taking IMPACT?”
I like the camaraderie. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m on a mission to loose 30lbs so I want to get more active [and] actually for protection purposes even more importantly. I mean it’s amazing how much stuff is happening here in Chicago. [Y]ou know it’s always been bad, but now we’ve really become numb to every day violence, it’s like if there’s not a shooting in a day it’s like something’s wrong. It’s every place. And I’m out with my dogs a lot.

I have my dogs for protection. And I have my girl, Diva, she’s my Rottweiler, and we’re about to adopt a pit bull and of course there’s Mr. Big. (he’s now contently sleeping on the couch next to her). No one ever messes with us if I’m out with Diva, of course she’s pretty big at a 100lbs. They see her and cross the street. But if I’m alone…

I really don’t want to put my dogs in a position where they’d have to do anything. You know, knowing how things get turned around… like the way people feel about pits and rotts, our dogs would get put down even though they are just protecting us.”

Thus, organizations like “Don’t Bully My Breed” and several others are needed to educate people and advocate against cruelty to these breeds.

Any questions for me?
“I saw also that there’s advanced classes, I’d definitely be interested in that.”

Sure, once you’ve done the Core, you’re eligible to take the Advanced Course. There’s one in December, so after the November Core here at CPA, you’d definitely be eligible.

IMPACT and CPA: Partners in Ending Violence

During my transition into IMPACT Chicago, and as I was learning about our Core programming, I heard we had a course scheduled in a new location, C-P-A. CPA stands for Chicago Party Animals. Admittedly, “Party Animals” is not a phrase I’d have associated with IMPACT…However, after learning more, especially after attending a CPA sponsored “Waggin’ Wednesday” event, I can see the fit.

While IMPACT’s mission is to end violence against humans, Chicago Party Animals focuses on ending violence against dogs. Like IMPACT, CPA provides a safe and supportive space for learning and works within the community to increase awareness to help end violence. Not only am I excited that we are bringing the Core to a new neighborhood, I am excited because preventing cruelty to animals is near and dear to my heart: I live with and love two dogs that were rescued from no-kill shelters and each is a survivor of abuse and cruelty.

Puck, a flat hair retriever mix had been returned from his 3rd home and because of his anxieties, it was questionable if anyone would take him again. He’s been with us for 9 years. Maggie, a shepherd-sheltie mix, was dropped off at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The vet who saved her felt that Maggie’s abusers had left her there on the last possible day of recue. The vet had to surgically remove an embedded collar from Maggie’s neck. Because of the damage to her neck and throat, we thought she’d never bark. But one day, a trespassing cat slinked along the top of a nearby fence and Maggie barked. She looked more surprised than we did, and we were very surprised! We were also so relieved to realize she could bark, so we laughed and cheered for her! Picking up on our delight and encouragement, she barked some more… Setting a boundary with that cat, she found her voice!

While I am happy to report these successes, the need to raise awareness and promote an end to violence against animals is immense. IMPACT’s partnering with organizations like CPA makes sense, because research indicates correlations between reoccurring acts of violence toward animals and later reoccurring acts of violence against humans. (Hensley, 2003; Bernard & Hogan, 1999). The ASPCA recognizes the ties between animal cruelty and domestic violence. You can learn more about the connection and what you can about it by going to their site, http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/domestic-violence-and-animal-cruelty.

Fortunately, there are people like Josie and Tim, the founders of CPA, who are working to raise awareness and help channel funding to organizations like Barriers Against Repeated Cruelty (BARC) where volunteers mobilize to aid animals in domestic violence situations. BARC is able to assist in saving lives and grant relief to women trying to escape domestic violence who might otherwise stay out of fear for the safety of their companion animals. In partnering with CPA to present the Core program this November, we complement one another’s missions to end violence.