{"id":176,"date":"2017-07-14T11:14:26","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T16:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/?p=176"},"modified":"2017-07-14T14:33:54","modified_gmt":"2017-07-14T19:33:54","slug":"fight-club-local-therapist-uses-taekwondo-to-prevent-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/fight-club-local-therapist-uses-taekwondo-to-prevent-assault\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight Club: Therapist teaches martial arts to combat assault"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>One Oklahoma man is using his combined passion for martial arts and counseling to teach women how to help prevent sexual assault.<\/h4>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-176-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/Fight-Club_mixdown.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/Fight-Club_mixdown.mp3\">https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/Fight-Club_mixdown.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A recent study by the Center for Disease Control shows<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/violenceprevention\/nisvs\/infographic.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> one in four women will experience an assault<\/a> in her lifetime. There are resources for women available, but only a few focus on preventative care and instead offer treatment for coping.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff Fine-Thomas is a marriage and family counselor trying to change that culture by offering self-defense courses. He has a second-degree black belt and has been practicing Taekwondo for 10 years. He\u2019s tall and relatively lanky, with graying hair, a thin pair of glasses and a signature therapist smile.<\/p>\n<p>He teaches classes at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.poostkd.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Poos Taekwondo<\/a> in Edmond, Oklahoma, in a large building in the middle of a suburban area.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_180\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-180\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-180\" src=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/jeff-300x182.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/jeff-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/jeff-768x466.jpg 768w, https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/jeff-1024x621.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-180\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Instructor Jeff Fine-Thomas stands in front of the Poos Taekwondo practice space while a class of young students train behind him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The idea for a women\u2019s self-defense class came to him about a year and a half ago when he came across a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMsa1411131#t=article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study by Charlene Senn<\/a>, professor of psychology at the University of Windsor. The study said that self-defense classes can reduce women\u2019s risk of sexual assault by 46 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a huge number,\u201d Fine-Thomas said. \u201cIf you can put it into context when you buckle your seatbelt in your car, you\u2019re reducing your risk of death by about 45 percent. So it\u2019s the equivalent of buckling up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After reading that, he knew he could use both his experience as a marriage and family counselor and his love of martial arts to apply what he learned from the study.<\/p>\n<p>Fine-Thomas approached Jason Poos, owner of Poos Taekwondo, asking if he could offer a free class for women.<\/p>\n<p>Poos was happy to help.<\/p>\n<p>When the program first began, Fine-Thomas expected the serious subject matter to elicit a somber response. The opposite happened.<\/p>\n<p>Many women couldn\u2019t contain the urge to laugh, sometimes losing their balance and falling over. This, to Fine-Thomas, was a sign of victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realized that we met a goal that we wanted to meet, which was that we did something women wanted to do, and ever since then, every class has been like that,\u201d Fine-Thomas said. \u201cThere\u2019s a ton of laughter, and frankly, it\u2019s just a hoot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some experts feel wary about self-defense classes. They claim those classes can sometimes put the responsibility on the victim instead of the perpetrator.<\/p>\n<p>One of those experts is Mackenzie Masilon. She\u2019s seen this happen several times as a rape prevention coordinator at the <a href=\"http:\/\/ocadvsa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, Masilon said that Fine-Thomas\u2019 more comprehensive approach, including information about risk factors, unhealthy relationships and identifying the characteristics of coercive men could make his class more effective than the self-defense classes she\u2019s seen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a program where there are these root causes [are] being addressed, and it\u2019s an empowerment program, I think that\u2019s a great idea,\u201d Masilon said.<\/p>\n<p>Several women have found Fine-Thomas\u2019 class to be particularly effective. One of those women is Sandra Elrod.<\/p>\n<p>Elrod has blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a deep Southern accent. She arrived at the studio in her exercise clothes after looking for a new job as an accountant.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LV0et1Yv7BQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You would never know from her confident manner that Elrod, or \u201cEl,\u201d as her friends call her, is a survivor of sexual assault. Elrod grew up in Missouri and was abused by her father. She said she had very few resources available to her growing up.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_182\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-182\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-182\" src=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8219-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8219-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8219-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8219.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-182\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taekwondo instructor and first-degree black belt Alex Mitchell coaches domestic violence survivor Sandra \u201cEl\u201d Elrod.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After she was removed from her home at 10 years old, Elrod was only given one counseling session as a child.<\/p>\n<p>Her father was convicted of abusing other children and put in jail years later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHad domestic abuse been more heightened back in that time when it was occurring to me, it would not have affected four other children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Last fall, Elrod participated in Fine-Thomas\u2019 class after hearing about it from a friend.<\/p>\n<p>Fine-Thomas taught her how to use taekwondo to defend herself against an attacker, and she described the process as \u201cempowering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs an adult today, I can say I\u2019m more apt to defend myself because I have more will,\u201d Elrod said.<\/p>\n<p>She said the class instilled her with such confidence that she didn\u2019t feel triggered by the material.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve already gone through the abuse all my life, and I did fear that it would bring up some emotions I may not be able to handle,\u201d she said. &#8220;But it was such a well-planned class that it allowed by to walk through the instructional aspect without digressing back to the &#8216;woe is me&#8217; factor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elrod has since become a counselor with an organization called Abuse No More.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re so much better than the people who prey upon us,\u201d Elrod said.<\/p>\n<p>Classes like Fine-Thomas\u2019 are often taught by women. Because of that, he has been met with some criticisms and apprehension.<\/p>\n<p>When he began his research, Fine-Thomas reached out to Charlene Senn, the woman whose research inspired him. She told him the class was only meant to be taught by women.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_239\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-239\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-239 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8222-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8222-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8222-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/IMG_8222-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-239\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Poos Taekwondo Instructor Alex Mitchell pretends to make a strike at domestic violence survivor Sandra \u201cEl\u201d Elrod during a class intended to teach self-defense to women.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fine-Thomas said he has mixed feelings about the response. He acknowledged that the presence of a man may intimidate a survivor, but he said his background in therapy and martial arts makes him the best person for the job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s where I stand, and I hope it works,\u201d Fine-Thomas said. \u201cWe\u2019ll let them decide whether or not a male can teach it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One Oklahoma man is using his combined passion for martial arts and counseling to teach women how to help prevent sexual assault.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[33,39,38,30,35,27,31,10,28,40,32,29,34,37],"coauthors":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}