By Emily White

REXBURG—Robert Wylie and his wife Catrina are no strangers to the self defense and personal safety scene. Robert has been training, teaching, and studying advanced weaponcraft and personal defense for over 30 years. Catrina works at Brigham University-Idaho and is one of the building safety coordinators for her unit. In addition to teaching classes, Robert and Catrina volunteer with Madison County’s search and rescue team. They combined their skills and formed DPPDefense to spread awareness and teach others about personal defense and safety. 

Class Information

Beginning Oct. 20, classes will be taught at the Southeast Idaho Capoeira studio in Rexburg every Wednesday at 6:30.  

The first level class is called the practical personal defense class. It lasts an hour and a half and covers the fundamentals of self defense. This includes situational awareness, predator methodology (types of predators and how to identify them), self defense tools, moves, weapons, human stress responses, and animal behavior. The second level class focuses on one’s personal safety plans and more in-depth knowledge of human behavior and self defense.

The classes also focus on different types of weapons and how to turn what’s around you into a self defense tool. They are put into three different categories: Edge, Impact, and Improvised. Edge weapons include but aren’t limited to knives, swords, and broken glass (which can also fall under the improvised weapon category). Impact weapons are anything you can beat with—batons, bats, sticks, etc. An improvised weapon is anything you can use to defend or attack that is unique to your location (broken glass from a window, sticks or branches, a set of keys, etc.).

Full of trails, dunes, and mountains, Idaho is full of many opportunities to get out and explore nature, making it equally as important for people to know what to do during an animal encounter as it is in a more domesticated setting like a city or home.  

Learning how the human brain works under pressure, how to get ahead of one’s own flight or fight responses, and how to protect oneself in dangerous situations are all important skills Wylie hopes to teach to the people of Idaho. He says it’s important that everyone knows how to protect themselves, especially in a college town.

 If you are unable to attend the on site classes, Wylie offers in-home classes for groups, duos, and single classes. (Pricing below)

Home Security Audits and Evaluations

In addition to the self defense classes, DPPDefense offers home evaluations. They seek out the weak spots or break points in a home, offer safety tips, and calibrate and reinforce the locks. Working with you and your family to come up with an emergency plan in case of fire, break in, or natural disaster, DPPDefense’s goal is to help families be more prepared. 

Extra Classes:

In addition to practical personal safety classes, DPPDefense offers enhanced weaponcraft training, in-depth situational awareness, and corporate consulting. 

Pricing and Discounts 

Regular Class: $50 per person

In Home Group Sessions: $50 per person. If you get 10 people you’ll get one free slot. 

In Home Solo/Duo Sessions: $125 an hour. Once you get three or more people the price becomes $50 per person and falls under the.

Home Evaluation: $500 

Students and first responders get a 20% discount with ID.

For more information, visit https://dppdefense.com/ .