“Back off!” » The order, chanted in chorus by 85 throats, resonates throughout L'Asphodèle. “There, very good, again! Again ! It must become automatic for the day you are attacked”Alexandre Beaufrere retorts.
Policeman in Châteauroux, the colossus, behind his friendly blue-rimmed glasses, has forty years of teaching judo and ju-jitsu. In 2018, with his colleague, friend and assistant, Isabelle Dagnaud, he completed an expertise diploma in self-defense, in two modules (one for the general public, one for communities and businesses).
“Help them find the best solution”
Since then, the pair, who also offer judo sessions adapted to people with disabilities, regularly provide (“about three times a year”) self-defense courses throughout the department. Notably at Poinçonnet, Buzançais and Mézières-en-Brenne, where Alexandre Beau Frère teaches. Classes that attract more and more people. The 85 participants – women of all ages, but also men and children – gathered on Friday December 6, 2024, at L’Asphodèle, even constituted a record. It must be said that it was a free session, organized as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
With 85 registered, the self-defense course given free of charge on Friday December 6, 2024, at L'Asphodèle, in Poinçonnet, by Isabelle Dagnaud and Alexandre Beau Frère, recorded a record number of participants.
© (Photo NR, Jean-Sébastien Le Berre)
“More and more violence, and not just in the streets…”
But free is not everything, far from it. There is already word of mouth. The two professors have a very active and followed Facebook page. And above all, there is the news. “As police officers, we are seeing more and more violence, particularly against women, and not only in the street, but also within the homespecifies Alexandre Beaufrere. We know that some participants were victims. These sessions can be a turning point for them because they come back to see us, talk to us and we can direct them to the right people. » “We are here to do prevention above all, completes Isabelle Dagnaud. We want to help them find the best solution, and show them simple, non-lethal actions. »
In addition to the basic techniques of warning, dodging, blocking or responding, there are some essential reminders of the principles on which self-defense is based.
© (Photo NR, Jean-Sébastien Le Berre)
Summons, dodge, block, riposte… and self-defense
In addition to the basic techniques of warning, dodging, blocking or responding, there are also some essential reminders of the principles on which self-defense is based (1). All in a good-natured atmosphere, with a clever mix of humor, kindness and trust. “All our sessions are by registrationspecifies Alexandre Beaufrere. This allows us to verify the identities of each and every person, and to ensure that we are not letting just anyone in…”
(1) For self-defense to exist, the following five conditions must be met: the attack must be unjustified, that is to say without valid reason; the defense must be done for oneself or for another person; the defense must be immediate; defense must be necessary for its protection, that is to say that the only solution is response; the defense must be proportional, that is, equal to the severity of the attack. (source: www.service-public.fr)
