As a storm battered Malta on a Saturday in late January, a different sort of battle was taking place in a small school gym in Qormi.
Twenty children of different ages and backgrounds were in a self-defence class conducted by a police officer specialised in karate.
The idea of teaching self-defence to children is not new. But the horrific murder of Pauline Dembska earlier this month has sparked fresh interest.
Even so, the session that took place last Saturday was different to others being held around the island – it was for child victims of crime.
The children have witnessed violence or have suffered physical, mental or emotional harm caused by a criminal offence.
The initiative was announced last December as part of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. The inspiration came from the Victim Support Agency, in collaboration with the prime minister’s wife, Lydia Abela.
The main goal is to empower the young victims and help them gain more confidence.
“I want to teach the kids to be able to ask for help and not think they are bad people just because they are a victim,” the instructor told Times of Malta. Being a member of the Special Intervention Unit, his name cannot be published.
As the children learned kicks, strikes, punches and evasive moves, his voice echoed around the gym.
“When I shout five, you must kick as fast as you can. Okay? Get ready… five!”
Between kicking and punching, he would drop in words of advice aimed at boosting their confidence.
The main goal is to empower the young victims and help them gain more confidence
“Now imagine I was walking in the street, with my back arched, dragging my feet and looking down at the floor. Do you think I can protect myself if someone wanted to argue or attack me?”
The children agreed: they would find it more difficult to fight off someone or run away.
“So what about if I walked straight, with my elbows back, confidently, and looking straight ahead? Do you think someone would approach me and try to hurt me? Probably not, because I am showing them I am present and confident.”
The importance of discipline is instilled: just because they were learning karate, it did not mean they could stir up trouble.
In the tradition form of karate, the instructor teaches “winning is not the end goal” but it’s learning “how to become a better person”.
At the end of the session, he laid out the five Dojo Kun (rules) of karate: “Exert myself to the perfection of character. Be faithful and sincere. Find faith in the spirit of perseverance. Respect proprietary. Refrain from violent behaviour.”
His final instruction to the children? Carry those rules around with you in society.
Children who were victims of crime can sign up for self-defence classes by sending an e-mail to victimsupport.police@gov.mt or calling on 25689700/ 22942160.