- Midway Parks and Recreation is partnering with Tallahassee Mixed Martial Arts to teach neighborhood residents about self-defense.
- Classes are held every Thursday from 6pm to 7pm at the Midways Recreation Center.
- Watch the video to see what you can gain by joining our class.
Broadcast transcript
Tallahassee neighbors teach Midway neighbors the importance of self-defense I'm Ashley Engle, neighborhood reporter. Leaders here are giving people the opportunity to learn skills that can save lives. When I spoke to a self-defense class instructor, he said:
“You can't always rely on someone to protect you.”
Teach your neighbors to keep themselves safe.
“It’s important to have the tools you can use to protect yourself.”
A passion that Russell Weider, aka Shinsei, has had since he was young.
“As a kid, I was always interested in martial arts movies and comics and things like that.”
A partnership was formed to use that passion to serve our neighbors.
Midway Park and Rec has partnered with Tallahassee Mixed Martial Arts to begin offering weekly self-defense classes.
“I started as a student and then became an instructor.”
Jason Jones is the Director of Midway Parks and Recreation. He said neighborhood boys and girls ages 13 and older can come to Midways Recreation Center and learn different ways to protect themselves.
“It's not designed to be beautiful. It's not designed to look good. It's designed to go home at the end of the day. We want to provide something for the community. We wanted to give them the power to feel empowered to control their own destiny.”
Jason and Russell say women and men need to have these skills no matter where they live.
“One of my instructors was actually robbed and was able to defend himself at gunpoint, which helped him when he faced the attacker and saved his life. Ta.”
“Being aware of what you know and being able to notice something can be moody, or you can listen to your inner self to see if something is wrong. All of that develops when you're doing a self-defense program.”
Jason and Russell keep an eye out for neighbors along the way to keep them out of danger.
“We had a strong desire to show that we could do this and to give back.”
If you want to sign up or just want more information, Russell and Jason let us know that neighbors can attend a self-defense class every Thursday from 6pm to 7pm. I will explain everything in this web story on the wtxl website. tv set. I'm Ashley Engle, ABC 27, in the Midway area.
Self-defense class application information:
City of Midway Parks and Recreation – (850) 574-2355
