Mount Pleasant Family Martial Arts and the Isle of Palms Recreation Department are combining forces to welcome female community members to partake in a series of self-defense classes this fall at the IOP Recreation Center at 24 28th Ave.
Spearheading the instruction of the self-defense program for women 16 and up will be Virginia-born Stile Drewry, who owns and operates the Mount Pleasant Family Martial Arts Center.
"[The] IOP Self-Defense for Women series of classes will be based on a law enforcement approach," promises Drewry, himself a former five-year law enforcement agent. "It will cover everything from knee and elbow strikes to escaping a grab."
Registration dates are scheduled for the following dates:
• Sept. 11, 5-6:30 p.m.
• Oct. 7, 8:30-11 p.m.
• Nov. 13 8:30-10 a.m.
IOP Recreation Director Karrie Ferrell informs that the department's goal is to expand the program in the next few years to include self-defense classes for men and families.
Drewry's résumé features previous experience as a defensive tactics instructor for the Department of Criminal Justice and a degree in occupational science. The third-degree black belt in American freestyle is also a Certified Strategic Intervention Coach with 20 years in martial arts.
For more information on signing up for the fall program, visit IOP.net.
