A couple of days after taking a self-defense classes with Greg from Punch It Forward, I was in a situation where I actually needed to use some of the material that I had learned. At the time, I was living just off of 17th Ave downtown and my friend and I had decided to go to the park that was just across from my house. It was starting to get dark out, but we were together so we really thought nothing of it and walked across the street. As we were sitting on the swings we started to get a little bit uncomfortable about a lady that was screaming into her phone and just seemed a bit off. I thought back to what Greg had taught me and thought “If it feels weird it probably is weird.” So I grabbed my friend and we walked around the block and took the long way back to my house because the lady was blocking our short path to the apartment. By the time we had gotten back to the front steps of my apartment, there were police cars pulling up and investigating the area. Apparently the lady had been involved in a stabbing incident! Before I probably wouldn’t have thought anything of the lady in the park because 17th Ave gets a little bit weird at night and I was used to it by that point. But after taking self-defense with Greg I was more cognisant of my surroundings and was able to avoid a potentially very dangerous situation. I am so thankful for having a new mindset about protecting myself and that I am able to recognise bad situations more easily now. Thanks Greg!