A group of students in the Point Loma High School dance room listened intensely Thursday, March 22, as a self-defense expert told them the story of an 11-year-old European girl at Disney World last summer. The girl was taking an elevator to her room, alone, when a man got on. After the doors shut, he pressed her against the wall, preparing to assault her.
“Wham!” instructor Tracie Arlington shouted, demonstrating a perfect “palm-heel” to the face of the imaginary attacker before her.
According to Arlington, the girl escaped because she had taken a self-defense class such as the one offered to Point Loma High School students last week.
The school invited Arlington in response to a March 9 attack on two of its freshman.
According to the mother of one of the two victims, the two girls, both minors, were walking away from school around 1:30 p.m. on Chatsworth Boulevard just past Plumosa Park when a 30-something white male, approximately 5 feet 9 inches, attacked them while crossing Freeman Street.
He pushed one girl to the floor and groped the other girl, who began yelling. The attacker then ran off, apparently scared by the screams.
The San Diego Police Department sex crimes unit is handling the investigation but did not return calls to comment on the case by press time.
Arlington held two classes last week “” one Thursday and another Saturday, March 25 “” to show the students how to handle themselves in common attack scenarios.
In addition to stories recounting near-misses and successful escapes, Arlington always brings a body opponent bag made of synthetic materials, mounted on a pedestal for class after class of beatings. The dummy allows students to practice strikes and become familiar with the self-defense moves Arlington teaches.
She showed students how to use their bodies as weapons to resist attackers. Eye gouges, hand rakes and palm, elbow and knee strikes are all effective as defensive attacks, she said. And for women in particular, legs and feet are one of the strongest assets for self-defense.
And while fighting off an attacker is an important part of the class, Arlington also stresses the importance of being vocal. In fact, she encourages students to yell and shout during class just as they should during an actual attack.
However, Arlington emphasized that screaming “9-1-1” or “no” is more effective than yelling “help.”
While most of the girls at the March 22 class had no previous defense training, two students with such experience were able to confidently assist Arlington in demonstrating moves.
Lindsay Janos, a third-degree junior black belt in martial arts, and Sarah Robinson, who has taken self-defense classes, were eager to share their knowledge.
Both are freshmen who live within walking distance of the school and thought it important to solidify their previous training.
“It helps commit it to muscle memory,” Janos said. “It makes you more confident. We know we’ll be able to defend ourselves.”

Robinson said her mother feels more comfortable when she knows Janos will be with her daughter.
According to Arlington, Janos and Robinson have the right idea. Practice gives the students more confidence, and confidence can increases the likelihood that, when faced with an attacker, the girls don’t freeze.
Arlington teaches her classes that a positive survival mindset is key, no matter the age or size of the attacker.
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog,” Arlington said to the class, referring back to the girl at Disney World.
While Arlington believes it is good for a victim to fight during an attack, she said it is best to judge each situation individually.
“If I woke up to a guy holding a knife to my neck, with all my training, what do you think I would do?” Arlington asked, stumping the class. “I wouldn’t fight.”
She explained that knives are dangerous and victims can end up injuring themselves trying to get the knife away from the attacker.
“I might get raped,” Arlington said of her hypothetical knife attack, “but I’ll still be alive.”
But if she feared the attacker would kill her, “You bet I’ll start fighting,” she said. “If I’m going to die, I’m going to die fighting.”
For more information about classes, visit www.playitsafedefense.com or call USA Freestyle Karate at (619) 224-9600.