>A year ago, mother-of-two Jennifer Cutrona was off running on her favorite trail near her home in Texas – earbuds in and her mind focused on an upcoming marathon – when a man suddenly leapt out from the woods and tried to grab her.
>“I got away from the guy, but was extremely upset at how oblivious I had been to this possibility,” Cutrona told FoxNews.com. “I did not want to listen to anyone who would try to scare me from being free to run my favorite spots.”
>The incident inspired Cutrona to think about the need for women to be fully prepared, even when dressed down for a run. Soon after, “Booby Trap Bras” was born – a line of sports bras made with self-defense in mind.
>“The little pocket knives I had collected over the years were all at home in the drawer with my pepper spray. I needed something I could pull in less than a second,” Cutrona said. “I sewed a knife sheath into the layers of my sports bra. I put it back on and realized it worked wonderfully. My confidence was back. I was not trying to come up with something that would kill. Just something that would give me a few seconds to get away.”
>Cutrona’s now-patented creations are advertised with the motto “Stay safe. Stay active.” They provide a means to securely store – yet easily access – a small knife or pepper spray for protection.
>The “Just In Case Knife Bra” which retails for $55, features a knife sheath made from nylon neoprene built into its layers. Cutrona’s company also offers the “Just In Case Pepper Spray Bra” for $50 and unisex compression sleeves for $25 intended to hold anything from a phone and credit cards to keys and knives. The product line has been a hit, with Cutrona claiming that she has sold out of every production run to date. She is planning a new collection for men.
>Howard Mallen, co-founder and CEO of Krav Maga Worldwide, who teaches the popular self-defense technique developed by the Israel Defense Forces, said women should augment products like Cutrona’s with training.
>"The risk of being attacked is increased when your attention is being diverted, you're alone, and/or your senses are impaired. Jogging or running is a perfect example of this,” Mallen said. “Typically, runners have music blasting in their ears and jog by areas that can serve as hiding places for would be attackers.”
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/18/assault-prompts-entrepreneur-to-design-self-defense-sports-bra.html