Photo by Deb Gau Diane Buesing pulls her wrists free from Sgt. Matthew Hoekstra’s grasp using a technique he demonstrated to an audience of Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce members last week. Below, Katlyn Benson and Jaci Peterson work together to practice skills in front of Sheriff Eric Wallen

MARSHALL — Lunch had been ordered, and there was plenty of conversation going on. But the mats laid out on the floor in one corner of the room showed it wasn’t an ordinary meal break.

The 30 or so women gathered at the Lyon County Law Enforcement Center last week were there to learn a little about self- defense.

“Getting away from an attack is something that I teach officers,” Sgt. Matthew Hoekstra of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department explained.

Over the course of about an hour, Hoekstra and Sheriff Eric Wallen showed the audience some strategies for breaking free from an assailant. It was all part of a “Lunch and Learn” session organized by the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Lunch and Learns are a new event that we added in June of last year,” said Desiree Petrich, Chamber events coordinator.

The events give Chamber members a chance to meet up over lunch hour, and learn about different topics.

“A Lunch and Learn can be anything and everything. We take suggestions that come in, and work them into an event that all of our Chamber members are then invited to,” Petrich said.

This year, the events will cover everything from tips on working with computer programs like Microsoft Excel, to self-defense and composting, she said.

At last week’s event, Hoekstra said he wasn’t going to share techniques that were too complex. Many of the demonstrations and skills that audience members practiced involved getting out of an attacker’s grip — whether that meant getting away from someone holding their arm, or from an assailant who had grabbed them around the neck.

Hoekstra also talked about preventative safety precautions.

“One of the basics of self defense is to try not to get yourself in that situation,” he said.

He recommended not walking alone, or walking with a dog. He said even talking on a cell phone can make a person seem like less of an easy target to an assailant, because the person on the other end of the phone conversation would know about an assault right away.

Hoekstra also suggested carrying mace, or making a lot of noise if attacked.

Hoekstra said being asked to lead the self-defense session for Lunch and Learn was a new experience. While he’s taught self-defense for law enforcement officers before,

“It’s different for citizens,” he said.

For most people, a big part of defense is trying to avoid dangerous situations, he said.

People who attended the Lunch and Learn event said it was good to learn some defense tactics, or to get a refresher on the topic.

“You always want to be ready to defend yourself,” said Katlyn Benson.

Benson was practicing some of the techniques Hoekstra taught together with Jaci Peterson.

“I think the more stuff they offer like this is really good,” said Diane Buesing.