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Self-defence class for teenage girl running group

Chris Craddock
BBC Jersey communities reporter
BBC Lucy smiles at the camera while girls train behind her in the room. She is wearing a pink and grey hoodie and she has blue eyes and long blonde hair which is tied into a pony tail.BBC
Lucy, 16, found the Krav Maga training very useful

A running group for teenage girls in Jersey has been working with a self-defence class to help boost their confidence and keep safe while exercising by themselves.

See Her Run provides weekly training sessions for girls in school years 10 to 13 to help get them active.

The group came together with Jersey Krav Maga which showed the girls what to do if they were threatened and how to avoid conflict.

Krav Maga is a form of self-defence known for focusing on real world situations and practical applications.

'So interesting'

Lucy, 16, was one of the girls trying out the self-defence training for the first time and said it was "so interesting".

She said: "I thought it was a really good opportunity to learn a few skills which hopefully I will never need but if I ever did then I have them up my sleeve."

Lucy smiles at the camera as behind her the instructor is showing a demonstration to the class. She is wearing a brown t-shirt and has brown eyes and long brown hair which is tied into a pony tail.
Madelaine said she enjoyed the experience of learning self-defence

Lucy was training with Madeleine, 17, at the class.

Madeleine said: "I think we're quite lucky here, we're quite safe in Jersey... at the same time - there always is that risk".

She added: "I think it's so important that we have something like this where we can learn the skills to cope in difficult situations."

Ceri looks at the camera as the instructor shows the girls a technique behind her. She is wearing a white training top with the See Her Run logo on it. She has brown eyes and short brown hair which is tied into a pony tail.
Ceri Tinley set up See Her Run last year and has seen the club grow

Ceri Tinley founded the See Her Run group which now has about 40 members, and approached Jersey Krav Maga about the class.

She said: "Just knowing exactly what you should do if something happens and being aware of your surroundings will boost that confidence."

Ms Tinley hopes the training will help the girls feel they can go out for runs by themselves.

"It's a little bit different but it shows the girls what they can do if they're in difficult situations", she added.

Richard looks at the camera while the girls train behind him holding pads. He is wearing a black exercise top with a black t-shirt which has the club's logo on his chest and the Jersey flag on his sleeve. Richard has floppy brown hair and brown eyes.
Richard Collett wants to continue this work to help more young women feel confident

Richard Collett is the chief instructor at Jersey Krav Maga and led the session.

He said: "These guys are running quite often on their own at night.

"They definitely need some help out there so it's a pleasure to teach them to be honest."

Mr Collett added "Statistics show that they're the ones most in danger from these sorts of problems so I'm always available to Ceri and any other girls' organisations that want some help."

Fifteen girls attended the training and there are plans to hold more sessions other members of See Her Run.

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