Residents learn self-defense techniques from MLT police

The Mountlake Terrace Police Department’s training room was filled with yells, grunts and an occasional laughter as 18 participants practiced techniques in getting out of a wrist grab last Tuesday evening. The women’s class was held in the police department’s training room while the men’s class was in City Hall.

The self-defense class is part of a four-class series on public safety hosted by the City and MLT Police.

Det. David Nguyen and K-9 Officer Anjelica Rivera led the women’s class and demonstrated ways to get out of three kinds of wrist grabs and two kinds of strikes. These wrist grab escapes include same side, opposite side and two hands. Det. Sgt. Megan Sheets and Det. Maddy Fee assisted in the class.

Nguyen said these techniques can be used in real-life scenarios and simple enough for people with no martial arts background to remember.

“Most of the techniques of the wrist grab were all turning towards the thumb and breaking it. It’s not like you have to do this and this motion,” Nguyen said while mimicking movements that are often seen in martial art movies.

He said the open palm and hammer strikes are chosen instead of punches because these techniques reduce the risk of students injuring their hands or wrists. “If you don’t punch properly, you can break your fingers or your wrists,” Nguyen said.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Matt Porter and Sgt. Jeremy Perry taught the men’s class, which had two male students and one female. 

Between the two classes, there were a total of 18 women and three men. One of the women wanted her male partner to stay with her in the women’s class, so MLT resident Charla Vaughn decided to participate in the men’s class instead.

Before the hands-on practice, Porter told the class that under Washington state law, people are legally allowed to use force to defend themselves, someone else or their property as long as the force they use is necessary to stop the threat. 

“‘Necessary’ being defined as the amount of force reasonably effective to stop the attack,” he said. “So you can’t go crazy, can’t kill a fly with a sledgehammer. [If] you do that, you’d be in big trouble.”

Porter also suggested the class review the state’s jury instructions, which are what a jury would receive to decide whether their use of force was lawful. He also pointed to Washington’s “No Duty to Retreat” law, which states a person does not have a legal duty to run away if they have a lawful right to be where they are.

Mountlake Terrace resident Lee, who had training in karate and aikido many years ago, said she took the class because she wants to feel more confident and be in charge of her body if she’s in a confrontation.

“That’s never happened, but I think it’s something we have to always be aware of,” she said. “I want to do the right thing to save my life.”

Another participant, Jan, said she was surprised how simple moves can get her out of really difficult circumstances. “And I think everybody should know self-defense,” she said. “I think you have to practice it and do it in order to get it into your muscle memory, in case you ever have to use it. Hopefully, I never have to use it. But I was telling my partner Sophia that I may have to practice it like I play mahjong.”

Nguyen said the Mountlake Terrace Police Department holds a self-defense class once a year. If residents want to train regularly with a police department, he suggested they contact Lynnwood or Bellevue police.