Self-defense program teaches children when to run

The first step in teaching children how to deal with dangerous situations is showing them how to avoid them in the first place, physical education teacher and martial art expert Janet Goliger said.

Goliger teaches self-defense to children as part of her physical education program at Mountain Avenue, La Crescenta and Lincoln elementary schools, and recently self-published a book for parents on her methods, entitled “I Need To Be Safe, I’m Worth It.”

Most children think they need to fight themselves out of confrontational situations, whether it be a class bully or a stranger on the street, Goliger said, but the single most important thing a child can do is maintain a safe distance from an aggressor and know when to run and get adult help.

“I’m tired of coming home and seeing on the television that another child has been abducted,” she said. “It makes me sick to my stomach. I think it’s about time we did something about it and I hope this book will help parents.”

Goliger first toyed with the idea of incorporating her martial arts background — she holds a second-degree black belt in karate — into her classes about 10 years ago, and introduced it for the first time in 1999. She was dismayed to find, however, that children knew less about stranger danger than she realized.

“I assumed that most people knew about the danger of strangers, but I found that most kids would simply go up to a person if they called them over,” Goliger said. “After doing it for about six years, I’ve found that about 50% of kids will respond differently now. Most of them already have special code words, others know to stamp their foot, kick and yell wildly if they’re in trouble. But there’s still 50% who don’t.”

The book follows the structure of her lessons, Goliger said. It depicts 32 scenarios and shows, through a series of pictures, how children should react. Goliger stresses the importance of teaching children to be aware of their external surroundings, to maintain distance from strangers and to use their verbal skills to deflect potential conflict. But she also shows them how to defend themselves physically.

“I know my techniques have saved at least five children,” Goliger said. “Two parents called and told me that their girls had been followed by a van. They did everything they were told to do. They kept in front of it, they kept their distance and they got themselves to safe place and called police. They even remembered the license-plate numbers.”

Cindy Brines, whose 10-year-old son Austin attends Mountain Avenue Elementary School, said it gave her peace of mind to know that her son was equipped with skills to deal with dangerous situations, and is pleased that he was able to learn it at school.

“Self-defense is not something I would necessarily know how to teach my child,” Brines said. “I’ve heard from Austin that he actually feels that he could do something in a dangerous situation. It really has given him a lot of self-confidence. You always hope that your children aren’t put in a situation like that, but I believe that any knowledge you can give your kids to protect themselves is vital these days.”

Austin enjoyed taking part in Goliger’s classes, but added that his favorite part of the lessons is learning how to kick and knee body targets.

“We learn how to do different moves and what to do if a stranger is following us or if someone tries to kidnap us,” he said.

“I feel like I can protect myself better now.”