The event "Girls Fight Night Out! ROUND TWO" offered self-defense & sentiment as a bride-to-be won a Menashe half carat diamond. Fight Night took place at the Sanctuary in West Seattle. Pictured top left, event co-organizer Lisa Skvarla demonstrates fending off "attacker", martial artist John Emahiser. Bottom left, Jeannene Peden serves champagne. All champagne glasses contained a CZ diamond but one, which contained a real diamond. Top right, Josh Menashe, jeweler, donated the real one, pictured with winner Dawn Black of West Seattle. Bottom right, Skvarla & co-organizer Ann Doherty.
The second annual "Girls Fight Night Out! ROUND TWO" fundraiser held Wednesday night at West Seattle's elegant Sanctuary venue was a multifaceted event.
Women were offered training by West Seattle's Lisa Skvarla, co-owner of Lee’s Martial Arts, 3270 California Ave. SW, and this year's organization chair of AWSDA (Association for Women's Self Defense Advancement) training symposium in Bellevue Oct. 5 through 7, open to the public. She and another West Seattle resident, Ann Doherty, put together Girls Fight Night Out.
Note: AWSDA now stands for "American Women's Self Defense Association".
With the help of her male "attacker", good-sport John Emahiser, who she tossed about like a sack of potatoes, (although, like her, he is a black belt) she offered strategies on fending off male attackers through self-defense moves, utilizing kicks, fists, elbows, and even sharp, but common, implements carried in purses.
Later, during the auction, one lucky lady "found" a half carat diamond in her champaign glass. About 40 slender champagne glasses were filled, one for each guest. Event sponsor Josh Menashe, Menashe and Sons Jewelers, in the Alaska Junction, had cubic zirconia "diamonds" plopped into the glasses plus one real diamond dropped into the winning glass.
Dawn Black, of West Seattle won the diamond. "I'm getting married out here in March," she said. "We actually didn't buy a ring yet because we didn't have money for one," she added with happy tears pouring. Josh said he'd help her find the right setting for a ring.
This event will now be more frequent than annual. It will be used to fundraise for organizations used for empowerment of women and girls.
""AWSDA is an organization that empowers women and girls to protect themselves and know rape prevention and awareness, and to know what to do," Skvarla told the West Seattle Herald. "Know that people have an absolute right to defend themselves. Follow your gut. Listen to that small, inner voice inside you that gives you warning.
"A lot of times your body knows before your mind (of danger) so honor that and listen to it," she said. "Some women think, 'My boyfriend is going to protect me', or, 'My Husband is going to protect me'. 'The police officer is only 10 minutes away.' You need to take responsibility for yourself. We, as women, need to protect each other and know how precious and important we are. We need to depend on ourselves."
