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Fighting Back

Children in Martial Arts Save Lives

By Tenna Perry

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During the past two years, the media has been inundated with stories of abducted children, and it is rare for children to be found alive. As parents, it's easy to think such a thing could never happen to our children simply because it's what we want to believe. The alternative is too horrific to even consider.

Living in a small town, neither my children nor I can go into any retail store without meeting someone who knows us. While shopping, we seldom worry about leaving our car windows down to help fight the South Texas heat. Doors of houses are left unlocked and even the smallest of dogs is considered an adequate warning system for danger. Children are told not to speak to strangers, but few receive any true training in self-defense. I give thanks everyday because by watching my husband and me training in the martial arts, our eldest daughter, Vicki, decided to begin her training as well.

A Close Call

On May 14, 2002, Vicki, who was 13, was running late for the school bus. She followed her normal routine and stopped two houses up the road to walk with her friend Teresa, because she knew I never allowed her to travel the 1/2 mile to the bus stop alone. On that day, her friend was too ill to go to school, and Vicki decided to go on to the bus stop instead of coming back home for me. It didn't take her long to regret that decision.

The bus itself was running late so Vicki sat down on the grass beside the road and became engrossed in a book. She was so caught up in the story, she never noticed the pick up that passed, stopped up the road and then backed up to her until one of the two men inside spoke to her.


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