Self-Defense as a School Elective by Anya

Self-Defense as a School Elective by Anya - February 2022 Scholarship Essay

By the age of twenty, over seventy percent of women have been physically assaulted. Unfortunately, this is a growing problem not only in the United States but all over the world. Violence against women is an ever-growing problem that we can mitigate through self-defense education and awareness. I believe that a self-defense class would be greatly beneficial to students of every gender. Arming a person with the tools to defend themselves helps prevent them from becoming a statistic.
Self-defense is a great practice not only for protecting yourself but also for keeping physically active, which in turn prevents obesity and other health complications related to being overweight. Self-defense helps a person, whether it be a man or woman, feel confident in any situation they may be faced with. A person can not prevent an assault from happening, they can only be prepared to defend themselves from their attacker. It is sad that we have to arm ourselves with these techniques in order to feel safe in our everyday environments, but unfortunately, this is the reality we live in. An extracurricular class focused on situational awareness and self-defense techniques would be beneficial to students in helping them recognize potentially dangerous situations and helping them to choose the appropriate measures to take in order to protect themselves and maintain their wellbeing.
Creating an extracurricular class centered around this would not only give students confidence in knowing they have the ability to defend themselves if need be, but it would also allow them to improve their physical health. Considering that karate, boxing, MMA, and self-defense courses are all sports that include mild to moderate cardio, it helps people who participate in them to shed a few pounds in addition to improving their overall cardiovascular health.