Each Thursday, Aikido of Gainesville offers free self-defense classes to the public.
For Tom Huffman and Ashley Cortez, the classes are an act of community service, but they’re taking it one step further.
The center, in partnership with the Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center, will offer a free self-defense class April 4 in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The class will be from 7:15 p.m. to 9 p.m at the Unified Training Center, 809 W. University Ave., and will teach Aikido to interested residents and students.
Cortez, a victim advocate at the county crisis center, organized the partnership.
“[It’s] what we’d like to see as far as self-defense and respect — nonaggressive techniques and equipping you with basic knowledge,” she said.
Aikido differs from karate or taekwondo as a form of martial arts in its attempt to simultaneously defend oneself from attack and prevent the attacker from being injured unnecessarily.
Huffman, sensei and founder of Aikido of Gainesville, said people can normally cause as much pain as they want, but in his classes, he gives his students the tools to avoid it.
“That is what Aikido is in a word: options,” he said.
Cortez said although it’s impossible to prevent all rapes, she believes that teaching self-defense will help contribute to reducing the risk.
“I’m hoping that this gets people to go to the [Unified Training Center] to continue on, to keep themselves educated about self-defense,” she said.
