Members of the Caribou Business and Professional Women’s club took time during their meeting on March 7 to recap the details of their February meeting, which featured guest speaker Loren Gordon.
Gordon owns the Caribou Martial Arts Studio and attended the Feb. 7 Caribou BPW meeting, bringing with him lessons from his LIVE (lessons in violence evasion) program and open discussion about women’s self defense.
“It’s different than what we thought self defense was,” explained BPW member Nancy Solman. “We’ve taken self defense courses before, and it’s always been trying to use your strength against somebody; [Gordon] said ‘that’s not going to work,’ and it’s a whole different idea they teach now.”
President of the Caribou BPW Rani Belanger explained that Gordon taught the group ways to escape instead of attacking one’s attacker.
“It’s more how you move your body into empty spaces and being able to slip away form somebody and being able to divert somebody instead of being able to attack back,” she explained. “We talked about how to find safe areas around you, how to escape grabs and holds by moving your body into open spaces and how not to freeze under pressure — those kinds of things.”
While the group as a whole enjoyed the enlightening experience, it wasn’t the first time the group has sought a lesson in self-defense — and they recommend that other ladies participate in some kind of self-defense course themselves.
During the Caribou BPW meeting on March 7, the group worked on planning their annual BPW Luncheon, which serves as a fundraiser for their scholarship fund as well as providing a fun, relaxing event for the region’s women on Administrative Professionals Day, which is celebrated on Wednesday, April 24 this year.
Members assured that invitations to the annual scholarship luncheon would be mailed out shortly, and shared that this year’s luncheon will be held at the Loring Job Corps Center Ballroom.
Additional information regarding the luncheon will be printed in the Aroostook Republican when it becomes available.