During a recent visit to NorthPark Mall in Davenport, a proud "farm girl" from Muscatine County noticed a man following her, mirroring her every move.
“I stopped, and I turned around, and I just looked at him,” said Nancy Stockwell, who decided to slip into Jos. A. Bank, the suit retailer, for safety. “He was not hiding the fact that he was following me out.”
Although the potential predator eventually stopped pursuing his target, the guy should consider himself lucky the situation didn’t escalate from there. Standing at 5 feet, 8 inches, Stockwell teaches self-defense courses for girls and women and carries two knives and a firearm on her at all times.
On Thursday, the 47-year-old mother, who lives on her family’s 140-plus-acre farm in Stockton, shared that story with 11 members of the Arconic Women’s Network during a 90-minute class.
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"I couldn’t find anybody in the Quad-Cities teaching a class that I wanted to take, so that’s why I created it," she said. "Women are attacked differently than men are, so we have to know how to defend differently than them."
The instructor received her certification from Empower Training Systems in Waukegan, Illinois, and invested about 25 hours in the gym at Big 5 Power Conditioning in Davenport.
Her strength and conditioning coach, Josh Howat, a former mixed martial arts, or MMA, fighter who learned under the legendary Pat Miletich, endorsed Stockwell's startup.
"She definitely has the aggression and physical ability to disarm an attacker," said Howat, a native of Zimbabwe, who immigrated to the Quad-Cities in 1994.
When it comes to self-defense and predator-prey interactions, however, Howat primarily stressed the importance of self-awareness.
"It's not physical at all," he said. "It's more about how you carry yourself and how to handle yourself in public."
Stockwell reiterates that lesson in her class.
"You can be almost 50 and a little overweight, and you can still defend yourself," she said. "It's not about being physically fit. It's about being aware of your choices and having the training and skill to defend yourself."
Thursday's clinic hit home for at least one Arconic employee.
Diamond Williams, a St. Louis native and process improvement engineer at the company's plate mill, said she quit her last job because a male co-worker made her feel uncomfortable.
Williams, who felt threatened even after she reported an incident, said she feels safe at her current workplace, but she thought she could pick up a few tricks from Stockwell.
"I don't have family out here," she said. "I've got to watch out for me."
While Arconic didn't permit Stockwell to carry her gun and pepper spray into its learning center across from the Riverdale facility, she marketed a range of non-lethal weapons she also sells.
"Boots are a girl's best friend," she said, drawing the small group's attention as she pulled a "stiletto knife" from one of her knee-high leather boots.
By the end of her session, Stockwell hoped her first-time students would leave with one true defensive move and one true strike move.
She also made it clear that aiming for a man's testicles isn't the smartest tactic for women to take.
"When I first started training, I thought that was the go-to spot, but it's really not," she said. "Guys know how to defend it quickly, and they're used to getting hit there."
During the work week, Stockwell serves as the volunteer coordinator at Beacon of Hope Hospice in Davenport. She launched her new business, coined Fury Unlaced, in June and hopes to grow it in the coming year.
"There's definitely a need for it," she said. "I think every woman wants to be the heroine in their own movie."
Editor's note: Look for reporter Jack Cullen's Notes @ Noon Tuesday, Thursday and Friday online at noon. He captures various sides of life in the Quad-Cities. Contact him at jcullen@qctimes.com or 563-383-2363.