HSC 4-H and partner agencies to host youth self-defense workshop | Photos and videos

The Hot Spring County 4-H program is hosting a youth self-defense workshop on Thursday, June 13 at the HSC 4-H Center.

Several agencies and businesses have partnered with the local Extension office to provide training and information that will help our children be safe and happy this summer, and more aware of the potential dangers around them.

The Percy and Donna Malone Child Safety Center, Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, Vision Martial Arts and the Malvern Police Department will all participate in the June 13 learning sessions to share information specific to their agencies.

Information about human trafficking, as well as tips on how to spot and avoid dangerous situations, will be shared by child advocacy centers.

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery and a serious crime. Traffickers use force, fraud or coercion to force victims into labor or commercial sexual exploitation.

Every year, millions of people are trafficked around the world, including in our own natural neighborhoods. Human trafficking is the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second only to drug trafficking.

Children represent half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age a youth becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old. If the victim is a minor, no force, fraud or coercion is necessary to prove trafficking. Any young person under the age of 18 involved in a commercial sexual act is considered a victim of trafficking.

To complement the traffic portion of the program, self-defense information and techniques will be taught by members of Vision Martial Arts in Malvern.

Located off Martin Luther King Boulevard. in Malvern, Vision Martial Arts is owned and operated by Master Daniel Recalde, Sixth Degree Master of Taekwondo and Krav Maga.

A world champion fighter with over 30 years of martial arts experience, Master Recalde is dedicated to delivering excellence in every class and training his students in the physical attributes of martial arts as well as the fundamental principles of honesty , discipline and self-esteem. and respect, and he will bring these same principles to the June 13 sessions.

Officers from Malvern Police will also be on hand to speak to children about situational awareness.

Situational awareness, in its most basic definition, is being aware of your surroundings and the activities happening around you. With more and more distractions in our daily lives, it's important to have situational awareness.

Whether you're on the road, at your new summer job, on vacation, or even at the mall, you need to be aware of what's going on around you. This will allow you to take necessary steps to avoid potential dangers.

Not all situations can be avoided. In these cases, situational awareness may not help you avoid a dangerous situation, but it can increase your reaction time and thus improve the quality of the decisions you make.

The self-defense workshop will include two sessions that children can attend, depending on their age. Youth groups ages 5 to 10 will meet at the 4-H Center from 9 a.m. to noon, and groups ages 11 to 19 will meet from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Call the HSC Extension office at 501-332-5267 for more information.