A Reader’s Perspective

Lt. Ron gives DAR empowering lesson in self defense

  Editor’s Note: Saugus resident Joanie Allbee is a local artist and frequent contributor to The Saugus Advocate. She is an author and longtime writer of articles for various publications who is also known as “The Sketch Artist.”

Can you teach an Ol’ Dog new tricks?

Gavin de Becker in the Gift of Fear (1997) states, “If an animal taken by a predator could speak after the fact, he’d likely tell us, “It all happened so fast; there wasn’t any time to do anything.” But with man, there usually is time, plenty of time and plenty of warning.

Although de Becker wrote the book in 1997, a Kindle foreword 2010 post note by him states “Media changes, human nature does not.”

Self empowerment comes in many forms. One is keeping yourself from being a victim. There is always that very slight window of opportunity to escape the perpetrator’s clutches at the get-go. A sharp way is to listen to the advice and glean from the knowledge of those who have gone before you.

On June 10 at the M.E.G. Center, members of the Parson Roby Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) received a Women’s Self Defense presentation by retired Saugus Police Lt. Ron Witten. Lt. Ron completed a 36-year career in 2013, including time as a SWAT Team member. Lt. Ron Witten gave a talk, demonstration and PowerPoint presentation on Self & situational Awareness help and hints in various situations.

Among several interesting tips in common with de Becker, Lt. Ron talked about paying attention to your intuition. Lt. Ron stated, “Trust your gut, trust your instinct.” And “pay attention to your surroundings,” he also said. “While putting groceries in your car give a glance now and then to be aware of who’s around.”

Another scenario discussed was to keep mindful of those times when you are taking an Uber / Lyft Ride; do not tell the driver who you are until they identify themselves and you ask who they are picking up, and keep the app open and be sure the driver license plate on the car that’s picking you up matches the info on the app on your phone.

The presentation pointed out that the bad guys look for and pick on the weak, easy targets. Lt. Ron spoke of ways to counteract this tendency and the importance of walking with a sense of purpose and awareness. Lt. Witten demonstrated several ideas and personal defense weapons in an emergency situation. He demonstrated how even a rolled-up magazine with elastics can be a weapon if in need.

Those in attendance walked away with a better understanding and knowledge of how to protect oneself if the need should arise. The attendees also gained the understanding that some situations can be avoided by being aware of surroundings and trusting your instinct to begin with.

This Ol’ Dog learned new tricks and suggests if you have the opportunity to attend one of Lt. Ron’s classes, it will benefit you greatly.

Regent Gail Cassarino and Vice Regent Wendy Renda sure must have been proud of their brother Saugus Retired Police Officer Lt. Ron Witten and his great presentation of assisting women to becoming less of a target and more empowered through the sharing of his knowledge.

Thank you.