About 18 years ago, Heidi J. Onion was approached by her police chief, who told her that their local park district was looking for someone to teach a self-defense class for women—and Onion was asked if she'd be interested in putting together such a program.
"I was the only female patrol officer at the time and already a DT ( defensive tactics ) Instructor," Onion said. "He thought it would be good public relations for the department. I agreed, and the rest is history."
She started teaching adult classes and then was asked by the local high school to do a class for the female students. She has since branched out, and in mid-June offered her self-defense class to the predominantly gay Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association ( CMSA ).
"I took the class. … Wow, it was amazing," said CMSA member Michael Erwin. "I didn't know what to expect and was very intimidated at the start, but, by the end, I was throwing punches and really feel that, in a horrible situation, I could protect myself."
CMSA will be offering more self-defense classes from Onion in the fall.
"[It was the] best $5 spent in a long, long time," Erwin added.
Onion said her self-defense class has been tweaked and changed over the years to keep up with the new philosophies and tactics that have evolved regarding personal defense. The class was originally geared for women only because there was a component that included rape-aggression defense and date-rape avoidance strategies. But lately, "there has been a need to branch out and include men as well, especially in the LGBT community," she said.
The typical class is four hours, which includes a discussion about awareness and attitude, tactics, and personal philosophy. Then it gets physical. "I teach target areas of the body, upper body strikes, lower body strikes, choke/hold releases, and ground fighting," she said. "The most important thing to know is that we are all vulnerable. We must take off the blinders and boost our awareness; this includes always being cognizant of our surroundings and the people around us.
"No technique is 100 percent guaranteed. The best self-defense 'technique' is your own willingness to train for the unthinkable. [The] purpose in my class is not to make my students into ninjas. [Instead], it is to boost their confidence, make them identify their strengths and weaknesses, and make them understand that they are a lot stronger than they think they are."
Onion added, "Self-defense is for everyone who wants to feel more confident in themselves. It's gender-blind."
Onion has been on the Roselle Police force since 1994, and has served as a patrol officer, detective, defensive tactics instructor, crime prevention/DARE officer, and a bike patrol officer.
She is currently assigned to Lake Park High School as the in-house school resource officer during the school year. In the summer she works the patrol beats.
"When they tell you that, after a certain amount of time in this job, you get jaded, it is true. But I fight it every day. I still want to see the good in people, but I am definitely less trustworthy of others and more skeptical in my observations. My mantra after 20 years of service and my advice to young cops is: believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see."
THE STATS
Age: 47
Town: Plainfield
Relationship status: Single
Job title: Police officer, Village of Roselle
Hobbies: Golf, reading, writing, running and hiking
Favorite TV show: Big Bang Theory
Favorite TV policeman: Detective Beckett ( Castle )
Favorite movie policeman: Tackleberry ( Police Academy )
Favorite pro sports teams: Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears
Four people ( living or dead ) who you'd like to invite to dinner: Rachel Maddow, Michelle Obama, Albert Einstein and Art Beeman ( her grandfather )
Little-known fact: "If I had the time and financial resources, I'd be a rare book collector."
