After years of experiencing violent encounters in his many roles within law enforcement and security, and seeing the impact on those whose lives were affected, 53-year-old Daz Norton has been working hard to give something back to the community.
After suffering a brain injury, Daz had no choice but to give up his usual job and now uses all of his expertise to help the local community and give residents the support they need in various areas, including psychological and emotional support through various workshops and self-protection classes.
In 1990, Daz developed a new self-defence system called Fendo and set up the Fendo UK company with the aim to help build self-worth, raise aspirations, and effectively try to break the violent cycle by giving those affected or involved in violence alternative options.
Speaking with Pioneer Magazines, Daz, who has now been living in Great Barr for 24 years, says that “the system is based on simple concepts that were pressure tested and work for anyone regardless of size, gender or fitness”.
As well as offering classes in self-defence, Daz has expanded the business with support from Perry Barr councillor, Morriam Jan, and has been able to spread awareness of his various support initiatives, gathering support from the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership to deliver programs to various groups within our local communities.
“We have worked with many people from different communities who have either been victims of crime, survivors of domestic abuse and with people who have social anxieties and depression, which has helped build their confidence,” Daz told us.
“We have also run workshops for the elderly where we have run awareness sessions on subjects such as personal safety, distraction burglaries, mugging and home safety.”
Some of the workshops feature talks from ex-offenders, team-building exercises and enterprise workshops, designed to make youngsters think twice about committing violent crimes.
“We have helped to change the mindset of the young people by getting them to think about their lives and others in more detail,” he said.
“In our youth programs we focus on targeted young people, youth that are at-risk of offending and even young people that carry weapons as a means of protection or those at risk of carrying.”
The mission now for Daz and Fendo UK is to be able to deliver his classes and workshops for free so that everyone can benefit from knowledge and skills that could save lives.
“We want residents to know we are here for them and want to run classes and workshops for our own community of Great Barr and the surrounding area,” he said.
“Our main goal is to offer all of this to our community for free but in order for us to achieve that goal, we need sponsorships, venues and funding. Hopefully, that will happen eventually. These skills and knowledge would benefit so many people.”
Daz is running classes at St John’s Church Hall in Church Road, Perry Barr from February and is involved in the Communities Unite program. If you’re a local business that can help, or if you’re interested in finding out more about Fendo UK, visit – https://www.fendo.uk/
