After a brief round of introductions, the members of Carol Mannarino’s self-defense class are instructed to sit facing away from each other in pairs, and write down everything they remember about their partners.
Sandy Lafleur struggles to remember what kind of top her partner was wearing. Even a pair of best friends, who knew each other long before joining Mannarino’s class, get basic facts like height wrong.
“People don’t observe,” Mannarino told her class, before they started to work on escaping holds and how and where to strike an attacker. “People don’t see. It’s all about being in the moment.”
Mannarino, a martial artist and retired owner and instructor of Morning Star Martial Arts, is offering free weekly self-defense classes at the Wilton Collaborative Space at Second Congregational Church, 25 Gregg St. There is no class March 5, but classes will resume a regular weekly schedule Saturdays at 10 a.m. March 12. There is no charge to attend, and participants do not have to be Wilton residents.
“I said, ‘Find me a space, and some students, and I’ll show up and teach,’” Mannarino said.
Mannarino said while she no longer has her martial arts schools, she still offers self-defense seminars and classes upon request. She said the first thing is to try to make people more aware of their surroundings and identify potential threats.
“So many people are sleepwalking through life, and they become targets,” Mannarino said.
Mannarino has had a lifelong interest in martial arts, having started with judo as a teenager. She got back into martial arts seriously as an adult, after she had an experience with a man in Hollis, a farmer who she regularly bought milk from.
“One day, he got fresh,” Mannarino said. “I never went back.”
She also called up the karate studio where her children had attended classes, and joined. Now, she said, she’s passing her knowledge on to others.
Issi Crane, 17, of Wilton, attended her first class Saturday, along with her best friend Lily Siegrist, 15, of Milford.
“I want to be able to defend myself if I’m ever in the situation I need to, and reduce damage to myself,” Crane said. “I can also teach other people what I learn. Not everyone can attend a class, so the more people that have this knowledge, and can pass it on, the more people benefit.”
Siegrist agreed, saying she eventually wants to move out of her relatively small town, and wants to take with her the skills to protect herself if needed.
Mannarino’s class is a mix of common-sense advice and practical techniques. In the hour-long class Saturday, the four women who attended learned how to escape when a person grabs them by the arm or hair, or tries to put their hands on their neck from behind or the front.
When an attacker grabs you, Mannarino instructed, take it as a gift, and use it in your own defense by pinning their hand and using the movement of your own body to put pressure on their joints to incapacitate them, while striking vulnerable areas. Students practiced escaping holds and palm and elbow strikes.
Everyone should know at least some self-defense basics, Mannarino said.
“You walk differently when you know some stuff,” she said.
For Lafleur, Saturday’s class was the second she had attended, and she expects to be back for more.
“It’s a rare person that can do something once and assimilate it perfectly,” Lafleur said. “And I feel more confident and less powerless knowing I have things I can do with my body to protect myself.”
Lafleur, who also serves as the coordinator for the collaborative space, said she was excited to see a range of ages in Saturday’s class, including teens and a woman in her 40s. She herself is 64.
“I just think it’s awesome to learn in a community environment, especially with people not my own age,” Lafleur said. “We have people in our community volunteering to share their skills, and I want to be part of that.”
Other upcoming events at the Wilton Collaborative Space include a pie potluck Monday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. Bring a sweet or savory pie to share. Beverages are provided. There is no charge.
On April 3, at 2 p.m., the space will hold a Scottish concert featuring The Strathspey and Reel Society of New Hampshire. For a full listing of events, visit the Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library website, wiltonlibrarynh.org. All events require registration by calling the library at 603-654-2581 or by sending email to Lafleur at sandyl@wiltonlibrarynh.org.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaarI@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.