web1_PA-Lottery-logo.jpg

Lottery Numbers for Wednesday, March 22

web1_spring-main.jpg

Penn State spring practice breakdown: A position-by-position look

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A self-defense class Wednesday taught women to &#8220;take the power back.&#8221;</p><p>Robert Thomas, of Tsunami Self-Defense Academy, held a 90-minute class for 42 women ages 13 and older at Elite Spine and Sports PT in Wilkes-Barre. Thomas taught women how to mentally and physically escape harm through several different techniques.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s going to teach mind-set, strategy and physical skills,&#8221;said Jack Digwood, co-owner of Elite.</p><p>Thomas explained his way of taking down an attacker should be different than another person&#8217;s.</p><p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t have a cookie-cutter approach (when attacked),&#8221; Thomas told the women.</p><p>He instructed them to not insult, not threaten or ask questions when approached.</p><p>&#8220;Take the power back,&#8221; he said. &#8220;De-escalate.&#8221;</p><p>Digwood and his wife, Kristen, decided to bring in Thomas because they know some of their clients are runners and &#8220;don&#8217;t run in the safest place.&#8221;</p><p>Best friends Maddison Black and Kayliegh Wardle wanted to &#8220;tackle this together&#8221; because they always do things together. Their mothers were also in attendance. The Plains Township pair was having fun testing techniques on each other.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re just learning how to protect ourselves,&#8221; Wardle, 20, said.</p><p>Ann Marie Montagna, of Pittston, attends Elite and decided to sign up after seeing a news report about a woman being attacked. Montagna said the techniques she learned would come in handy if anything happened while walking or going from a parking lot into a grocery store.</p><p>&#8220;You never know when you&#8217;re going to have to protect yourself,&#8221; she said.</p><p>During open-handed strikes, Montagna received praise from Thomas.</p><p>&#8220;I saw what others were doing and I decided I was just going to hit him hard,&#8221; Montagna said.</p><p>Thomas told the class there are two types of attackers: those who people know and those who are unknown.</p><p>&#8220;And the sad reality is that more times than not you are are going to be harmed by someone you know,&#8221; he alerted the women.</p><p>The money raised to participate in the class will benefit the Domestic Violence Service Center, Digwood said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL032317selfdefense1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kathy Perlucke, 60, of Nanticoke, practices self defense with instructor Robert Thomas at Elite Spine and Sports in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. 3/22/17. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL032317selfdefense1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kathy Perlucke, 60, of Nanticoke, practices self defense with instructor Robert Thomas at Elite Spine and Sports in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. 3/22/17. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL032317selfdefense2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Instructor Robert Thomas shows self defense to a group of women at Elite Spine and Sports in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. 3/22/17. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL032317selfdefense2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Instructor Robert Thomas shows self defense to a group of women at Elite Spine and Sports in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. 3/22/17. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Women encouraged to &#8216;de-escalate&#8217;</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WB self-defense class raises money for Domestic Violence Service Center