Building safety skill sets

About four years ago, Mountain Brook Police Chief Ted Cook said an instructor from another agency came and did some self-defense training with residents. Ever since then, Cook said, a lot of people have wanted to get involved with defense training but weren’t quite sure where to go. 

Throughout 2019, the Mountain Brook Police Department is making it easier for them.

“We also emphasize all training is good — whatever the discipline, it can add another tool to the toolbox for self-defense,” Cook said.

Starting in January, the Mountain Brook Police Department began offering its first-ever situational awareness and basic self-defense classes. The first six-week course, which filled up quickly, is running from Jan. 15 through Feb. 19, and the next course is set to run on Thursdays, from April 4 through May 9. Spots are limited, Cook added.

Over the course of six weeks, Cook said, participants meet at the Mountain Brook Police and Fire Training Center for two hours of free instruction that includes both a classroom lecture and hands-on exercises. The class has 20 slots and is open to anyone 18 and over.

Cook said the department has been thinking about offering the course for a while now, to go in conjunction with its popular citizen firearm safety course. 

“We thought it would be a good complement to it. I had gotten some correspondence from some residents very interested in it, especially some who have daughters going to college,” Cook said. 

One of the main class instructors is Matt Sulenski. He has taught defense tactics to the MBPD for many years, studied martial arts extensively and instructed other defense courses to various organizations and groups of nurses.

Sulenski said the class is designed for anyone and everyone interested in becoming more familiar with safety, situational awareness and self-defense techniques, regardless of experience level. Sulenski said sometimes people find themselves in bad or dangerous situations, despite precautions, and the course addresses how to be as safe as possible when confronted with various problems.

“Our lesson plans really start with avoidance techniques. We want you to be aware of your surroundings, who’s around and what they’re doing. We want you to simply avoid [dangerous situations], if possible, and get to a more safe place,” Sulenski said. “… However, should they manage to get to you and get their hands on you, we will have a couple of options.”

The situational awareness and basic self-defense class teaches participants target areas for striking if the situation escalates, Sulenski said, such as the best strikes for escapes from wrist grabs and choke holds. The educational discussion portion of the class largely includes precautions and awareness techniques, he said, and he hopes participants will ask questions and bring up concerns if they have particular matters they want to address.

Cook said they also spend time talking about what some of the typical indicators for dangerous people or situations are and why it is important to not go to certain places alone and to use the “buddy system” as much as possible.

The classes are set up with review sessions at the very beginning, in case people are unable to attend a session or need a refresher, Sulenski said, and also with the goal to “hammer home some of the important points.”

A big reason why they chose to do the course over six weeks instead of all in one day is to make sure the content of the classes really sinks in and everyone retains everything, he added.

Citizens are encouraged to sign up ahead of time due to a limited number of spots for the class. Even if the class is full, Cook said, some people drop out and the spots become available for other citizens. 

Twenty people is “not a hard, fast number,” he added, and they will still put people on a list and try to get them in, as well as alert them to future classes.

An exciting addition to the class they were able to afford, Cook said, was new equipment — padded safety suits that the instructors are able to wear — so participants are able to practice their newly learned physical strikes on them. In addition, Cook said, the mayor donated a dummy to also be used for striking purposes by students in the class. 

“[The class] is both instructional and hands-on. I would characterize it 50 percent mental and 50 percent physical. The mental part is just as important as the physical,” Sulenski said.

He encourages people to take notes during the instructional portion and to bring fingerless mixed martial arts gloves to use.

“I think everybody, people from all walks of life, really need to learn at least a basic skill set, be able to get to safety, be aware of their surroundings … I think that’s a skill set everyone across the board should have,” Sulenski said.

Participants must have a parent or legal guardian sign a liability release form if they are younger than 18 years old and want to participate with their guardian. Participants should wear durable clothing, including a short or long sleeve shirt and long pants, in addition to proper footwear. Sandals or open-toed shoes are not allowed. Water will be provided. 

If you are interested in participating, contact Cook via email at cookt@mtnbrook.org.