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Dominique Foster went to bed Saturday night feeling empowered and safer than she did when she woke up that morning.

Foster, 25, of College Park attended the third women's self-defense seminar held Saturday at Full Circle Martial Arts Academy in Glenn Dale, sponsored by Elite Personal Safety Systems, an online community working to educate women about personal safety.

Foster and nearly 50 other women learned in 90 minutes how to protect themselves from a predator by being aware of their surroundings, not fitting the victim profile and how to fend off an attack.

"A lot of the [information we learned] were quick things you could remember," she said. "I do [feel safer], and I've become more aware of the things I need to do."

Foster said she learned to always look inside her car before getting in, have her keys in hand before leaving the mall and to be aware of the people around her.

Samuel Scott, owner of Full Circle Martial Arts Academy and co-executive director of Elite Personal Safety Systems, said women are most vulnerable at two times of the year — when school begins in the fall and during the holidays — because they are busy and distracted.

"Seventy percent of assaults are committed against women without a weapon," Scott said. "Most attackers don't want to attack someone who wants to fight."

Scott, who founded the academy in 1992, said during his employment as a Prince George's County Department of Corrections officer from 1986 to 1998, he talked to inmates who had attacked women about their method for an attack.

Scott said the inmates told him they preyed on women who tended to leave doors and windows unlocked and were not always aware of their surroundings.

The women are taught about awareness, how to walk assertively, to have good posture and to stay off their cell phones.

The seminar begins with the women watching interviews with real predators about how they selected their victims. The women then learn and practice self-defense techniques such as how to get out of a choke hold and how to use their body weight to their advantage, Scott said.

"There's a whole method a predator uses for an attack," Scott said. "There's the interview process — they watch your body language, if you're on your cell phone, not paying attention, you're chosen. That's 90 percent right there."

Hersh Sandhoo, co-executive director of Elite Personal Safety Systems, said predators target woman and senior citizens because they are less able to fight back.

"You have to take your safety into your own hands. You can't wait or think someone is going to help," said Sandhoo, who has more than 21 years of martial arts experience. "You have to take responsibility for yourself."

Jan Richardson, 47, of Beltsville, who has attended the seminar three times, said she learns new things each time. Richardson said the techniques — such as pressing her car alarm button in a panic to alert those around her — are simple and easy.

"I learned a lot, a ton about women's personal safety," Richardson said. "The criminals out there now are finding different ways to attack us. It's very, very scary. It's not about them being stronger than you, it's about technique."

Cydney McCurdy, 30 of Fairfax, Va., attended the seminar for a second time.

"They really emphasize avoidance and how to either avoid or deescalate situations, and I think that was key to me and a lot of people in the audience," McCurdy said.

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.