Champaign organizations round out Pride Month with self-defense class

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Sunday marked the last day of Pride Month and one program in Champaign County is making sure everyone has the tools they need to stay safe — especially those in the LBGTQ+ community.

Uniting Pride of Champaign County and Battlehorse Martial Arts partnered together on Sunday afternoon for a special class. They went through basic self defense techniques. Some of those focused on reducing tension in certain situations and being aware of your surroundings.

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“There is a need for this,” said Battlehorse Co-Owner Keary Roberts. “Unprovoked, negative response about something that does not affect an individual, and still having them go out of their way enough to reach out and contact, reach out and intimidate, threaten — this is people who aren’t necessarily deep in that community in the first place. Like, clearly there’s a need for something like this. And clearly this is something that people will face more often than I think we would like to acknowledge.”

She said they’re planning more events like this in the future.

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