City of Jackson to host two women’s self defense classes

JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson Police Department and Jackson Parks and Recreation are partnering to make the city a little safer, including increasing lighting and adding blue light emergency boxes in local parks.

But they are also hosting Women’s Self-Defense classes.

“Safety is paramount in this day and age. Just taking those steps to reduce the chances of being a victim is what this is about,” said Jackson Police Chief Thom Corley.

The Self Defense class is for women only. Those 18 years of age and older are welcome to attend. Teenagers are welcome, as well with the presence of a parent or guardian.

“The design of the class is for women. So we’ll accept teenagers as long as a parent or legal guardian is attending with them,” Corley said.

The class will be completely free of cost and will include both mental and physical training by the Jackson Police Department.

“Make them just more aware of their surroundings and just get them good, solid information so that way they can be less likely to be a victim,” said Chase Morgan, the Lead Instructor for the Jackson Police Department.

There are currently two classes scheduled, one at the Westwood Recreation Center on November 19 and one at TR White Sportsplex on December 3. The city is working with the police department to schedule more classes at a variety of locations across the city in the near future.

“After looking at their scheduling, we will put together some more in different parts of the city. We want to have some out north, and we want to have some out south. So we’ll be scheduling those,” said Tony Black, the Director of Recreation and Parks for the City of Jackson.

To sign up, you can head to the Jackson Parks and Recreation website.

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