COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL OCTOBER 25, 2017 9A
Local martial arts studio takes action in wake of #MeToo
Begins "counter tag" of #NeverAgain on social media to inspire others to speak out against sexual
harrassement and sexual assault.
ATA will host a free women's defense class every month in Cottage Grove.
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
“As women, we negotiate with ourselves,” she
said. “We say, ‘This is weird but it must be ok.’
Or we say, “My friends like him so it must be ok
for him to touch me like this.’ But this is letting
people know they have the right to change their
mind,” Lauraine said. “They have the right to say
no and they have the right to build their bound-
It’s not always black and white. And for Erin
Lauraine, owner of ATA Martial Arts in Cottage
Grove, she’s helping women fi gure out how to
operate in the gray areas when it comes to sexual
assault.
aries.”
ATA holds a monthly women’s self defense
class at its studio on Main St. and while the
program has been underway for quite awhile,
something changed this month.
The next class, being held on Oct. 29 at
noon, is free.
Lauraine opted to lose the nominal free
she usually charged for the class after going
through her social media feed.
After sexual assault allegations began piling
up against Hollywood mogul Harvey Wein-
stein, women across the country started sharing
their stories of sexual assault and harassment
using the hashtag “Me Too.” The stories ranged
from feeling uncomfortable at work—the latest
data shows that since 2013 nearly 800 com-
plaints of sexual harrassment have been fi led in
Oregon—to rape.
“It’s not always black and white. Sometimes
its more subtle and that can be a little more sin-
ister,” Lauraine said.
The self defense classes at MTA will focus
on those subtle situations that can escalate into
uncomfortable or dangerous situations.
While the classes will cover the basics of
getting out of certain holds, landing strikes and
what to do if you fi nd yourself on the ground, it
will also approach the precursor to those situa-
tions.
“We’re going to talk about what predators look
for,” Lauraine said. “We’ll go over how to try to
make yourself not look like a target and to listen
to that instinctual voice that tells us when things
aren’t right, even if it’s a social environment.”
It can be a sensitive topic and so Lauraine
opens her class to a specifi c age range—with ex-
ceptions. The class is open to women 13 years and
older. However, with parental consent, younger
girls may join.
“It’s really terrible that we have to talk about
this in middle school but some of these themes
are relevant at their age and so, if parents want
their younger daughter to attend, I just would like
to talk to them fi rst since we do talk about rape
and assault,” Lauraine said. The youngest girl to
attend her class so far, has been 11.
Older women are also welcome. There is no
physical fi tness level requirement and Lauraine
said the classes do not focus heavily on cardio.
“I had a 70-year-old woman ask me this and I
told her self defense is relevant no matter your age
and if you have limitations you need to respect,
we can work with those,” she said. “You should
be able to defend yourself no matter your age or
limitations.”
ATA can hold approximately 20 people for
classes and so individuals interested in sunday’s
class are asked to call the studio to register at
(541) 942-0215.
“They can also just come with a water bottle,
loose clothes and athletic shoes or they can go
barefoot,” she said.
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