Moms, kids learn art of self-defense
Expert shows moves to fend off attackers.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
By ANDREA EILENBERGER
The Express-Times
WASHINGTON – With a flick of her wrist and a slight twist to the side, Cheryl Fuhrmann can fend off an attacker three times her size.
Her small frame and quiet demeanor don’t give a hint of her years of martial arts training or her fourth-degree black belt, but Fuhrmann can be a lethal opponent. The self-defense expert visited the Transitions Center for Women Wednesday to teach a group of mothers and daughters that they don’t need years of experience to protect themselves.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it – because you can,” Fuhrmann said. “People may look at you and say ‘you’re too pretty, you couldn’t even hurt a fly,’ but we all have self-defense intuition to use.”
The center offered the presentation in honor of National Bring your Daughter to Work Day and hosted a group of 10 mothers and daughters. Fuhrmann co-taught the lesson with her own daughter Monika Fuhrmann, who is a certified trainer at the age of 17 with seven years of experience under her belt.
Rosemary Milkewicz said she brought her 13-year-old daughter Kimberly Milkewicz to introduce her to the idea of self-defense, even though she hopes she never has to use it.
“I think Kimberly is at an appropriate age to begin learning about these things, especially for her time in the middle school,” Milkewicz said.
Kimberly learned a series of moves that she can use against an attacker, including those which could throw off even a 300-pound man with one quick shift of balance.
The first lesson in self-defense training, Fuhrmann told the group, is to remember three key areas: vision, wind, and limbs. One simple move, called the face rake, takes out an attacker’s vision and wind by simply thrusting a palm under the person’s chin and scratching the eyes and face. The throat is then open for an arm to the Adam’s apple.
Fuhrmann is also the New Jersey director of the American Women’s Self Defense Association, a national organization that promotes awareness about violence against women and teaches special defense techniques. Many of the moves Fuhrmann demonstrated were special to the group.
“These were created by New York City police officers,” she said. “Some originated with female officers – when the first women officers were on the street they needed to know how to handle criminals who could be twice their size and on drugs.”
She passed out newspaper clippings of violent crimes, molestation incidents, murders, and abductions in the borough and surrounding areas.
One article reported the arrest of repeat sex offender Brian Baldwin in August 2004. Baldwin abducted a 13-year-old boy and tried to molest him in an alleyway. He lived in Fuhrmann’s neighborhood, where her three children were raised.
“Hunterdon County is like a bubble, where you don’t realize what could happen or what’s really going on,” said Kalene Hartigan, a senior at North Hunterdon High School who attended the presentation.
She said she thinks more people should be aware of the violence and crimes in the area, and that more women should participate in self-defense training courses.
Pat Moonjian, the Transitions Center for Women’s program director, said the group chose the program after hearing countless stories of girls being murdered or hurt and not even trying to fight back.
She brought her own daughter, 18-year-old Jess Faro, who said she will remember the techniques when she goes away to college in the fall.
The center is a part of the Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program organization, that provides support services to women who have lost their primary source of income because of divorce, separation, and death or disability of a spouse.
Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
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