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Women fend off attacks in self-defense class Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Laurel Reuben of Ashland learns how to defend herself against an attacker in a class led by instructor Kit Crumb. The class was held near Howard Prairie Lake. Instructor gives students moves that rely on speed, surprise By SARAH LEMON Five women dig their toes into a stump-encircled bed of gray pebbles. Lined up shoulder-to-shoulder in a wooded area near Howard Prairie Lake, they're ready to defend themselves against a lone man. But Kit Crumb isn't an attacker, he's teaching the women the basics of self-defense. Crumb grabs Julie DeVilbiss' wrist. She circles her hand around and breaks his grip. He tries to choke Kat Dadd from behind. She laces her hands on top of her head and pivots out of his grasp. These aren't any fancy kung fu moves, Crumb said, but practical techniques that draw their effectiveness from speed and from surprising a would-be assailant. Thirteen rapes were reported to Jackson County Sheriff's Department in 2000. The same number has already been reported in the first half of this year. Medford Police Department investigated 26 reported rapes last year, up from 19 in 1999. Sexual assaults reported to the sheriff's department were 96 countywide in 2000, and 80 have been reported so far this year. Statewide, forcible rapes went up by nearly 5 percent between 1999 and 2000. "With these kind of cases they're really hard to pinpoint, they're really hard to track," said sheriff's Sgt. Terry Larson, explaining that there's no explanation for the apparent increase in local rape cases. DeVilbiss said she has taken self-defense courses for years and she thinks more women should feel like it's necessary. Rapes and assaults perpetrated against friends gave the Ashland resident, who just moved from Colorado, one reason to take Crumb's class. Instruction starts with basic body positioning. Skinny targets aren't as vulnerable to attack, so the women stand sideways with one foot forward. Both arms are up in front of the face and torso, one slightly more extended than the other. Crumb tries to take a swipe at Jessica Saxton's face. Her right arm bats his hand away, and her left fingers aim to poke him in the eye. In this same scenario, she could also hit an attacker in the face with a fist or open palm to break the nose or squeeze the larynx, which is easily crushed, Crumbs explains. But the goal isn't to thrash attackers, just to disable them enough so the would-be victim can get away. "Always go for the escape," Crumb tells his students. And he's got an escape technique for about any situation imaginable. "What do you do if an attacker grabs you by the shoulder from behind?" he asks. Crumb's partner Chris Mol� demonstrates, peeling Crumb's pinkie finger from her shoulder, prying his hand away and twisting his arm into an unnatural position. What if you see him coming at you with both hands aimed for your throat? Mol�'s arms form an L-shape in front of her body, separating and pushing away Crumb's arms. The women in the class aren't complacent because the exercises are just simulations. The barrage of blows soon make the nerves in Crumb's arms, wrists and fingers tingle. "I've got a fire burning in my belly just as soon as you started describing the different scenarios," said Laurel Reuben. DeVilbiss echoes the group's general feeling. "The idea of being attacked pisses me off so much that I want to ... ." "Mangle him?" Mol� asks. "Yeah." But giving in to instinct doesn't always work, Crumb cautions. And in his class, he tries to dispel some self-defense myths. Car keys raked across an assailant's face and stomping on toes are both ineffective tactics, in Crumb's opinion, because they fail to disable an attacker, only making the person angry. And forget about trying to nail an attacker in the groin. "Every little boy grew up protecting his groin," Crumb said. "Will we get into the rape issue?" Saxton asks. "It's all a rape issue," Crumb replies. "That's how all of it can end." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.