Self-Defense and Combat Fighting as an Elective by Zoey

Self-Defense and Combat Fighting as an Elective by Zoey - February 2022 Scholarship Essay

Fortunately, I attend a school with a wide range of elective classes available to me. If a student has interests outside of those electives, they are encouraged to create a club, giving the whole school access to that interest. However, it would be impossible to think that Grosse Pointe North High School has every elective a student could desire, so students often think of improvements, concepts they’d like to fix, or ones they’d like to engineer into existence. The elective that I would like to bring to the course selection is Self-Defense and Combat Fighting (SDCF) -a P.E. credit- where students can learn how to protect themselves and more.

A large factor that must be considered in adding a new elective to the school is safety, both inside and outside of the classroom. When students have the knowledge of safety and protection, the entire community can benefit. Teaching self-defense and the ability to get out of dangerous situations could have a significant impact on high school girls’ confidence. At this age, being out alone at night can feel unsafe. I know some girls who carry tools like a window breaker in case they are threatened. Another large group at our school that unfortunately is more targeted based on looks is the African Americans. This class could be a safe space to teach the best forms of defense against different people in multiple situations. While I would hope that students never need to use these skills, the best way to be prepared is to have a class that teaches how we can properly defend ourselves.

The safety risks of this class must be considered along with the benefits. One concern is the need for weapons in the class. Some fighting skills cannot be learned without the use of weapons, however, many can. Honoring the policy of no weapons on school property, the majority of the curriculum would surround hand-to-hand combat. The portion of the curriculum that includes weapons would have to use fake ones. For instance, plastic or foam knives would replace the real thing. The same would go for any other weapons used. In circumstances where the opportunity arises to expand learning beyond the classroom, students would go on a field trip off campus to a range where they could learn in a supervised, safe manner. In this way, students would gain an authentic skillset without having to compromise anyone’s safety.

The concept is powerful, yet beyond the material that carries importance, is the type of class - a gym class. P.E. is notoriously dominated by boys at this level, leaving girls subliminally feeling slightly inferior. Girls in gym classes have been subject to verbal sexual assault, or have been made to fell self-conscious about their bodies. Hopefully, the focus on women’s self-defense will bring more girls into the class, while the energy that attracts boys to gym will maintain a balance of genders, and start to solve the messages of inferiority that girls have been fed. With strength and empowerment being taught to all, a safer environment should be created so that girls are not subject to the same dangers that can be common.

SDCF also holds promise serving as a P.E. credit. For many reasons, including those listed above, high school girls are often not interested in taking the required P.E.class. This alternative would incentivize students to stay active and earn the credit. This class has the potential to be seen as a cool new opportunity by students, who in turn can tell their friends and siblings, making SDCF a beloved elective, unique to GPN. Besides the previously stated minorities, SDCF also aims to attract a more imaginative audience too. For instance, there are many readers who fantasize about the fight scenes they read about, imagining what would happen if they were actually in that scenario. This class provides the opportunity to actually become a beloved character from within that scene. The same applies to film lovers who’d want the chance to recreate a scene. Most likely, this part of the class would be an end of the year unit/project. Everyone would bring in a small movie clip or book excerpt, then the class would vote on their favorites, and the basics of the chosen scenes would be taught, making the class more fun and personal to the students. There’s also the obvious audience for the class of people who just want to learn to fight or have already taken an interest. Some may have taken karate or other martial arts, and those could be a unit in the class, along with self-defense, choose your own story, etc. With or without previous experience, there is a large audience for this class.

SDCF would be an excellent addition to the P.E. course selection. It would teach the skills students want and need, all while finding a fun way to fulfill their gym credit. After a year, students will come away with ways to remain active, skills that are fun to practice, as well as real-life defensive techniques that could be lifesaving.