Jessica and Clare qualify in "empowering" martial art

Jessica Moreland and Clare Bennett

Two local women have achieved a unique distinction in the world of self defence and protection.
 
Jessica Moreland and Clare Bennett have been studying, practising and training in Krav Maga for five years.
 
Krav Maga is a self defence system developed by Imi Litchenfield in 1930 in Czechoslovakia, but was adopted by the Israeli Defence Forces.
 
Now the women, who are also both members of Dovestone WI, have raised their skill-set to the next level, and have become qualified instructors, under the expert teaching and guidance of Global Kapap Chief Instructor, Adrian Valman.

They are now part of the Global Kapap International Network, one of the largest professional self protection organisations used to teach police, military personnel and civilians worldwide.

It comprises a wide combination of techniques sourced from Judo, boxing, wrestling, Brazilian Jujitsu, karate and realistic fight and weapons training, but focuses on real-life situations - situational awareness, threat neutralisation and dealing with an attack, should one occur.

While their reasons for beginning their journey are very different, and having not met each other before Krav, they soon found a shared passion and drive for Krav Maga and became good friends.

Now as newly-qualified Krav Maga instructors, Clare and Jessica are part of an elite group across the globe and join only seven other women in the entire world with this qualification within the Global Kapap International Network, making their achievement even more unique.

48-year-old Jessica, who has two teenage sons who also do Krav Maga, said: “I began after an incident with a particularly nasty individual left me feeling vulnerable and scared.

"So I decided to flip the narrative and become empowered and in a much better position to handle myself in the future.

Clare, 47, and mother of two grown up children, has always been interested in martial arts and began Krav Maga in a bid to learn some combative, self defence skills.

She has also encouraged her daughter to learn it too.

Jessica says everyone is welcome to the classes: "These lessons are open to all and are not gender, size, ability or age specific.

"The strength, skills and confidence that can be obtained from this, both emotionally and physically, is something that everyone should have the right to call their own.

They will be teaching Krav Maga classes in and around the Saddleworth and Mossley area.

Their new self defence club, AMAZONIA KRAV MAGA - A.K.M. will begin running classes from July onwards.

For more details you can contact them at amazoniakravmaga@gmail.com

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