By Yakir Havin
As part of his mission to help people protect themselves from acts of violence, Raziel Cohen of NDFTraining held a Personal and Home Defense Seminar in Crown Heights on Monday, January 28.
Cohen, Head Instructor of NDFTraining (and also known as ‘The Tactical Rabbi’), delivered the class to 15 people, teaching them — amongst other things — how to create a home defense plan, and giving them methods to de-escalate violent situations. Initially scheduled for an hour, the seminar lasted for over two hours due to questions and discussions from the audience.
A topic that was not initially on the program, but was discussed at length, was how to deal with law enforcement properly. Many people wanted to know exactly what to do in the aftermath of an attack — whether to call the police, what to say, and how to say it.
It is not always a victim’s choice whether law enforcement becomes involved in a violent crime situation. Often a bystander or onlooker will call the police, and it is vital to know how to respond to the arrival of officers at the scene. At the seminar, Cohen outlined how to effectively communicate with policemen in such scenarios.
Due to popular demand, Cohen will be returning to Crown Heights for a repeat session on Sunday, February 10.
One participant of the seminar had the following to say: “The class was interesting, informative, and crucial for every person who wants to be safe. I feel more confident knowing the right ways to react in a potential situation.”
But Cohen knows that one class is not enough in the face of the wave of violence that communities around the country have recently seen. “People need to know how to protect themselves. It’s no longer an option to watch videos of people being attacked and simply hope that you aren’t next. But on the other hand, no one — no one — should fear to walk the streets of their neighborhood. Learning methods of personal safety is a must, and I encourage everyone to do so.”
NDFTraining, with Cohen at its helm, is working on bringing the defense seminar to other communities in the United States, with the hope of educating the wider public about how to prepare and protect itself from acts of violence.
To register for the Personal & Home Defense seminar on Sunday, February 10, visit NDFTraining’s website.
I went to the event Sunday night 2/10 – highly recommend!! I was an aware person before, now I feel I have better tools and knowledge to keep myself safe G-d willing. A must attend event next time it is in town! Extremely useful for men, women, kids, etc.
for anyone who is interested in general protection and in self defense this was a great course! very thorough accessible informative and practical covering a broad range of valuable safety information
I don’t understand! The community of Crown Heights begs for a solution, then someone flies in to provide education and people complain about $50! How is he even covering his flight!
Seriously, people, you wanted a solution and someone is going out of their way to provide it. If I wasn’t in Florida I would have already purchased it.
Start being proactive and not reactive.
can the jcc or police sponsor this so that everyone can go. The jcc and police are trying to lower crime, this is a way that could help, maybe they could pay $5 to each person who attends as an incentive, like medicare gives monetary incentives if you attend your doctor appointments etc.
Time to show those antisemitic animals who is boss. Stand up for yourself! love this guy
Quality teacher
The class was so informative.
I learnt so many important day to day things, about how to defend myself, at home, on the street….
If it would happen again, I would definitely recommend you go, very worth the price! And it usually cost a lot more.
Great course!!
He doesn’t teach martial arts. He teaches personal safety and defense. That starts with a mindset. He also talks about pepper spray and which ones to use and how to use them. Additionally this class isn’t about firearms.
The only legal thing to equalize anything is pepper spray. He needs to be giving training. He cannot teach martial arts of any use in 2 hours but can teach how to load and properly spray a perp or two. We cannot carry in NY so peper spray is next best thing and safe.
Reach out to him on the website. He might offer it but doesn’t want to make it public… Never hurts to ask.
Instructor cohen is one of the most through and knowledge able person I have ever seen, not only he trains regular civilians but also I have personally seen him train security officers , Police , as well as military officials. Who ever attends his class will for sure be very happy and benfit a lot.
This class is worth the price! Please go! It was fun, interesting, the teacher is so much fun and really nice. He knows a lot, he really is an expert. The class is not about guns. It is about learning how to walk in the street knowing what to watch out for (you don’t know how to do it, even if you think you do), what you can carry to defend yourself and how to use it, and lots of important information I didn’t know before. I feel more confident knowing what he said and I had considered myself “aware”… Read more »
My husband and I would like to go. We feel it’s necessary to know how to protect ourselves, our children, and our home. This can literally be pikuach nefesh!
Although we abhor taking tzedaka, for this we would take tzedaka for knowing this information is imperative and requisite for every responsible human
I went to this learning. It was really great to learn what to look out for, how to be more observant when walking the streets of Crown Heights. I recommend every person living in crown heights to join this class. The teacher was clear, interesting and informative.
plenty of similar lectures for free on youtube
Can this event be sponsored so more people can come? It’s a very important subject, and it’s too crucial to miss, but it’s expensive. .
I was initially not interested in going to a class which I thought had nothing to do with me. My friend told me he was going and asked me to come so I went along and I am so happy I did. Instructor Cohen goes through all important information which you really really need to know even as an every day civilian. Definitely looking forward to sending all my friends and family to his second class. Thank you- Machluf