“I was attending a concert at a venue in Sacramento with my husband. It was general admission so everyone was standing together, packed in fairly tightly. When my husband left to get a beer, the ‘gentleman’ behind me took the opportunity to touch me inappropriately. As a woman in a relatively high-alert atmosphere, I naturally had up some defenses. As a woman who took Jason’s 3-hour self-defense class earlier that year, I not only had up those defenses but I had some tactics at the ready as well. I spun around, placed three fingertips of my right hand just above the notch of his sternum, and pressed into that very tender spot with a clear direction for him to back up. And yes, it was said with a couple of words that I’m sure any reader can imagine! This alone was enough of a warning shot across the bow that this guy may not want to continue down this path with me. His eyes grew very wide, as did his friend’s, who quickly suggested they both go stand elsewhere. As a petite woman, I am so grateful for the easy-to-use skills Jason gave me to deescalate what could be very dangerous situations. They aren’t skills I hope to use, but they make life much less fearful.”—Toube, Chico, CA