As the chance of falling victim to a violent crime remains ever present in our society, the Greenwich Police Department is getting involved on a local level by hosting a women’s self-defense class.

“We host a five week course, two nights a week. The training is roughly about hour and a half to two hours per night. It focuses on ground fighting, self defense techniques, escapes from standing positions, and striking primarily,” Jeff Morris, a Greenwich patrol officer and class instructor, told ItsRelevant.com.

The students are taught the basic techniques and skills to escape from a dangerous situation.

“The guard is the most important thing to have, and that’s when you keeps your legs between the other person, or you wrap them around to control them. That’s your most helpful weapon when you’re on the ground,” said Heather Desino, a graduate of the class.

“What I generally like to say is if they can walk away with a solid understanding of how to survive on the ground, it’s more important than understanding a specific choke or a specific arm lock. It shows in past studies and attacks that women that consistently fight throughout attacks have a much higher rate of survival. It’s an overall theme that we want them to walk away with, not so much specific technique stuff,” said Morris.

According to ItsRelevant.com, 50 women graduated from the latest session, which is the largest class the police department has taught thus far.