Recent attacks on Melbourne students highlight urgent need for self-defence training 🚨

In light of recent and shocking incidents across Melbourne's school students being attacked, robbed, and left with serious injuries; our children's' personal safety is more important than ever.

Parents have shared with me their genuine concern about the lack of tools their children have to:

• identify dangerous situations,

• how to be smart about avoiding them,

• when to submit and

• how to protect themselves when engaged.

When looking out to the broader community, the media has shed light on recent reports and that these attacks have left parents afraid to let their children walk to and from school alone (source #1).

Children attending colleges across Melbourne including Xavier, Glen Eria, Elwood as well as Sacre Coeur and Scotch College have experienced and reported such incidences including: attacks, armed robberies, abduction and intimidation. These were said to happen whilst walking to or from school, or at Chadstone Shopping centre. Some parents have now started driving their children to school trying to protect them from harm (source #2).

Although police patrols have increased near high schools to ensure students' safety, there no question that our children need to be equipped with knowledge and fundamental tools to protect themselves when out in the community. Especially knowing that basic awareness could mean the difference of a child avoiding a dangerous situation.

Prior to the media attention on these dangerous situations; I have been training high-school students in self-defence in a 1:1 setting. Since more recent attacks, I have built and delivered a 5-week group training program to share these fundamental skills and knowledge more broadly. This program importantly provides the opportunity for your children to speak about these situations with an experienced self-defence trainer about what happened, could have happened and plan alternate tactics to keep them as safe as possible.

Take action today

At Results Progress Fitness, we also offer tailored self-defence programs for schools, private groups, and individuals, empowering them with the knowledge and confidence to navigate life safely.

For more information on our programs please download our brochure here or feel free to call me on 0421 725 466.

Sources: #1 Livingstone T, 20 September 2023, Melbourne community on edge after string of attacks on school students, Nine News, accessed 27 September 2023 <https://9now.nine.com.au/today/melbourne-school-student-attacks-police-patrols-increased-to-keep-children-safe/b5ebe643-697c-4a10-b607-82a128d0640b>

#2 Crow, Precel, Carmody, McMillian, 6 September 2023, Glen Eira College: More victims on high alert after spate of violence attacks on teens, The Age, accessed 27 September 2023 <https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/ambushed-schoolboy-in-a-bad-way-as-more-victims-come-forward-20230906-p5e2ce.html>