-By Chinedu Nwaduru
ABH, IBADAN- Saturday, 14 July witnessed the inaugural classes on self-defence for members of the Alexander Brown Hall. Put together by the Defence ministry, the classes held between the hours of 9a.m to noon, with Brownites showing up at the Gymnasium behind G-block for lessons on self-defence.
The lessons ranged from basics on making a fist, to parrying and face-blocking among many others. When asked about the spur behind this, the Defence Minister of the hall, in person of Mr. Imri Adefokun commented on the recent theft and bag-snatching activities that have been going on within the city, of which some Brownites have been unfortunate victims of. He went on to explain that the initiative was geared at helping people, especially the females have a fighting chance in some of these ugly situations.
“It is not uncommon for people to think that ladies cannot do anything when faced with such situations. They expect them to just willingly hand over their possession in fear. But with these lessons, and of course, being smart; we can reduce the incidence of brownites being robbed of their possessions even in broad daylight,” he further added.
He however insisted that the training was not a substitute for common safety precautions, “..all the rules of safety still applies which includes not walking alone at night and all. This is not a replacement, neither am I training fighters to go and test danger in the face, No! However, one cannot determine when these events may occur despite adequate safety precautions. And so, if they do occur, then the individual should be given a chance to defend his or herself from harm while alerting nearby people”
When asked about the future prospects, he emphasized that the training in the coming weeks will progress to involve real-life scenarios and vivid simulations where the participants will have to apply the lessons. The class was welcomed by a good numbers of Brownites, especially from the female blocks who came out on Saturday for the training.
“I think it is a good one, as I learnt a lot today. I am happy I came for it,” one of the female participants said.
Those that came around testified to the satisfactory level of the lessons, and anticipated the next lessons. The Minister ended his conversation with the Press with the hope that the turn-out in the coming weeks would increase, ” I really hope to see more brownites, both male and female come around. That’s the goal”
Here are some photos from the event
