Montgomery County jiu-jitsu school offers free self-defense classes for teen girls

FLOURTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Omar Cruickshank owns Crush Crew Jiu Jitsu in Flourtown, Montgomery County.

"We are the first Black-owned jiu-jitsu school in Pennsylvania," said Cruickshank.

The school teaches a variety of martial arts classes for all ages.

They've recently been offering free self-defense classes for teen girls after learning about an attempted abduction at the Willow Grove Mall in July, involving a 14-year-old girl.

"We got to protect our kids and our women," said Cruickshank.

He showed Action News Anchor Alyana Gomez a couple of key defensive moves that any woman can try.

"I'm gonna do what's called 'base.' Base is where you take a step back and your knees are slightly bent and your head is above your hips," said Cruickshank.

Establishing a base is important because if an attacker grabs your arm or wrist, your feet are planted, preventing you from falling.

Cruickshank says if you are being attacked, make a lot of noise to draw attention to yourself and rip your arm away by pulling against the attacker's thumb.

Jiu-jitsu team member Steve Westergom played the assailant in that scenario against Gomez, where he tried to choke her from behind.

In that case, experts say to tuck your chin inside the assailant's arm to avoid being choked. Then, grab their forearms and pull them close to your ribs, take two steps backward, bend the knees, and lean forward to prepare to flip them.

It's a lot easier than it looks, even if the attacker is trying to drag you from behind.

"We still have a good base here, legs open enough, slightly bent, tucking your chin, elbows to the rib cage," said Cruickshank, while displaying the move. "As I'm pulling him back, he's going to take his outside leg, his right leg, and hook."

Hooking your leg behind the attacker's leg will cause them to trip and fall, allowing you to run away.

If you're interested in the free self-defense classes for teens, Crush Crew Jiu Jitsu is hosting another lesson on December 29 at the Ambler Library.