Huge increase in self defence class enrollment in Dundalk

With several high-profile cases of violence in the media recently, self-defence classes are becoming more and more popular as people seek a way of ensuring they stay safe.

Whether it’s kickboxing, krav maga, or martial arts, students of all ages are now learning self-defence to counter threats and build confidence.

Last week the Democrat visited Krav Maga Systems in Dundalk to talk to trainers and students about the sudden upsurge in popularity.

The school, run by Head Instructor Anthony Cunnane, has been in Dundalk since 2014 and has been at its current location on Riverlane at the Ramparts since 2019.

Anthony says he’s seen a particular increase in the number of women signing up in recent times and that a beginner group due to start in a week’s time will be 70% women.

“There’s been a massive uptake in females, especially since the Ashling Murphy murder, and from that a lot of all girls’ schools have started doing programmes with us.

He says a lot of women are citing feeling generally unsafe as the reason they are signing up.

“I do an awful lot of workshops with different groups. We do counter rape seminars and preventing sexual assault tactics things like that.”

“There’s also the issue of domestic violence, if you have a woman who was previously attacked before.”
Currently, around 120 students train at the Dundalk school, which is the headquarters for Ireland.

“We’re trying to implement the school programme in other parts of Ireland as well in Mayo, Belfast, Dublin and starting in Galway soon.

“For me, my background is security. I teach security to a lot of military and police, that’s a whole different level of training; but the classes we teach here are in a civilian format and includes learning how to defend yourself on the ground, against multiple attackers, against weapons, all kinds of situations

“It’s a system of self defence, that’s all it is. There’s no competition involved in it. It’s all for reality and real situations. You learn about safety and preventative tactics to defend yourself and avoid dangerous situations happening.”

Krav Maga is a military self-defence and fighting system developed by the Israeli Defense Forces.

It combines boxing, muay thai, judo, wrestling, and other martial arts and is characterised by its focus on practical self-defence tactics with explosive movements.

Its primary goals are to protect against physical harm, help develop self-confidence, and provide a means of self-defence without so much reliance on strength and athletic ability.

As well as the classes open to the public, Anthony has started taking his classes into local secondary schools and says there’s been a great demand for his services.

“We’re in most of the secondary schools in Dundalk. Once we went into one, it was just word of mouth then.

“A lot of schools started contacting us and then we started doing schools outside of Dundalk because people are hearing about it and wanting to take it to their schools.

“We call it the Safety and Awareness programme for secondary schools and [we’re doing] big numbers.

“It’s not just about physical skills, it’s about knowledge and safety to prevent bad things from happening, it’s a set programme for males and for females as well.”

Some of the things the Safety and Awareness programme teaches students include:
- Situational awareness advice
- Safety tips
- Anti-bullying talks
- Social Inclusion exercises
- Team Building
- Confidence building drills
- Self Defence techniques
- Leadership training

Shaunie Savage has been training in the martial art for nine years now and her next belt will be a black one. She told the Democrat how she first got into the discipline.

“I saw a class in a gym and I asked about it and the person [at the gym] said to me I wouldn’t be able to do that, I’m just a girl.

“So I enquired directly then with Krav Maga and started and haven’t looked back since.

“It gives me great confidence. It’s great fun. You learn to defend yourself, make good friends.

“It’s also very addictive because nine years later I’m still here.

“I didn’t know that there was a system that you could just learn to defend yourself that wasn’t like a competition, and once I started, I just fell absolutely in love with it.

As well as the physical aspect, Shaunie hails the positive mental effects the training brings.

“You feel fantastic. It’s almost like therapy. You just feel absolutely amazing. You forget all about your stresses and get a great buzz.”

Inesa Svaikauskaite is new to Krav Maga, having only taken it up three months ago, but has already grown to love it.
She spoke of her motivation for joining the classes:

“I wanted to learn to defend myself with all the stories about girls being attacked and I knew about the school already, but didn’t expect to love it as much as I do.

“It’s really challenging and you don’t just learn to defend yourself, you learn to trust and challenge yourself. You also learn to mentally adapt to situations too, not just physically.”

Proving that age is no barrier when it comes to practising the martial art, Shane Cleland (63) spoke about what prompted him to take it up.

“For a while there I was thinking, ah I’m 64 on my next birthday, am I getting too old for this?

“But then there’s another man there, and he’s 70, and now he’s my reference that I can keep going,” he says.

“I was always interested in martial arts, but never had time. I used to travel a lot, and it’s difficult with other martial arts when it comes to things like grading.

“What I like about the Krav Maga is you can get straight into it. Whilst there is grading, it’s more functional.

“For me I find it’s wonderful exercise because Anthony here, he pushes you, and you just keep going. It’s different to going to a gym where you’re going along at your own pace.

“Because it’s such a team thing. You don’t want to let your partner down, so you want to keep going.”
Shane also extolled the positive mental benefits the training brings.

“The one thing is that you always walk out of here with a smile on your face, ok you might have a few bruises here and there, but it’s great for the head.

“Many days I’d come in here after a tough day of work and come out with a great release.”

Shane has been training on and off since 2017 because of work commitments, but says “the great thing is you can always slot back and see the same faces and some new.”

He says that the self defence aspect is a bonus, “you do feel a lot more confident whereas before you may have been a bit wary. It’s a confidence where you know if somebody nudges you, you’re not [shirking] and you’re able to stand up for yourself.”

Anyone looking to get involved in the Dundalk krav maga classes can find out more by searching Krav Maga Systems Dundalk online or on Facebook.