Self Defense

Reem Abdelmagid | Feb. 10, 2020 | Sports

For many high schools, sports are an integral part of campus culture. They offer students a way to relieve stress, stay active, and protect themselves. Despite Stanton College Preparatory School’s wide range of athletic activities, self-defense is not offered. Although some students have already made self-defense an important part of their lives by participating in organizations such as Stanton’s Multicultural Club’s martial arts group or outside programs, many believe it may be more beneficial to offer it as a class or extracurricular. Self-defense comes with many physical and mental benefits such as balance, self-discipline, and confidence-building. As it stands now, students interested in these activities have to search outside of school for places that offer it.

Self-defense—a form of protecting oneself by attempting to counter-attack an aggressor—comes in many different styles. Commonly practiced self-defense disciplines include karate, Krav Maga, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The advantages of a student practicing self-defense are similar to the benefits of participating in any other sport. In contrast to other sports which only focus on cultivating one’s physical stamina, self-defense also offers an opportunity to increase mental strength. 

“Some benefits [of self-defense] include health advantages because it is a form of cardio, so you’re able to stay healthy physically,” said sophomore Simran Dubey, who has practiced taekwondo for seven years and now teaches a course at Karate America. “[Practicing taekwondo] helped improve my confidence and self-esteem. It’s amazing to see, from a teaching and learning point of view, how a student really blossoms and changes, growing stronger physically and mentally.” 

Besides health benefits, learning self-defense offers high school students an opportunity to learn how to defend themselves. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, almost 20 percent of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 have been victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. According to a 1990 study reported by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually assaulted before they reach the age of 18. Given the risk of attack to young people, the implementation of self-defense in schools could offer many high schoolers the chance to fight back.

“The safety part of [taekwondo] is very important to me because I know if I were to get into a fight, I’ve had enough practice to know how to respond to the situation,” said junior Andreus Chrisman, who has been practicing taekwondo for three years at Yesha Ministries in Jacksonville.

Other students, like junior Emma Martin, provide kids with an opportunity to protect themselves. Martin is an instructor for the program radKIDS (Rape, Aggression, and Defense), a program based on empowerment that teaches children how to avoid abduction. The program is located at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in Starke, Fla., and also offers courses that teach women how to remain safe in dangerous situations.

“[The women’s program] is teaching women how to stay safe in a public place and be aware of their surroundings,” said Martin. “[It also teaches] self-defense for when you get into situations that can lead to unfavorable consequences.”

In spite of its practical uses, Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), has not implemented any form of self-defense courses. According to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), DCPS does not offer any self-defense classes or sports because the FHSAA has not sanctioned it. 

“The only sports offered have a stipend attached to it for a coach,” said Stanton Athletic Director Coach Christopher Crider. “Without a paid position for a coach, there is no sport. Usually, when the FHSAA sanctions a sport, it means they have surveyed students, coaches, and administrators, over a period of time and have determined there is a large enough interest.” 

Therefore, students who are interested in taking a self-defense class or program have to go to an outside source in order to participate. Many places in Jacksonville have self-defense lessons or programs for all ages, like Karate America, St. Johns’ Krav Maga & Fitness, The Women’s Defense Company, and Athena Women’s Self-Defense. These places offer classes for teens and adults who wish to practice or learn self-defense skills. 

“Self-defense should be offered in schools,” said Athena Self-Defense instructor Mrs. Mattie Brown, who has been teaching classes in Jacksonville on and off since 2013. “Unfortunately, we live in a world where people want to take [your life] from you and have no value of life. There is one common statement in almost every victim's story: ‘I never thought it would happen to me.’ This is why it's difficult to fill up a women's self-defense class. Few women actually entertain the idea it could happen to them.” 

Although some people believe self-defense could be a positive school experience with many advantages, others believe self-defense and school should remain separate. Stanton, in particular, does not have many altercations so there is not much of a need to learn to fight back in school.

“I don’t think we need self-defense since our school already has a safe environment and fights don’t happen frequently,” said freshman class president Ryan Sevilla. “Self-defense would just take away time from us when we could be doing more important stuff. If a student really wants to learn about self-defense, they can take it outside of school.”

A number of students felt if self-defense was offered as an elective in school, it could take away attention from courses such as Advanced Placement (AP) subjects, which offer students the opportunity to take AP exams and gain college credits. 

“It could definitely be offered at school as more of an after school club, but to dedicate a whole semester to self-defense takes away [time] from more meaningful classes,” said sophomore Stephanie Marques.

Besides taking time away from core classes, the athletic aspect of self-defense is considered by students to be too violent for an educational environment, which can create liability issues for schools. Although self-defense sports can be dangerous, other contact sports, such as football, are offered by the district.

“I would compare [sparring] to wrestling,” said junior Anh Khoa Le, who co-leads the martial arts group in Stanton’s Multicultural Club. “[In] wrestling, you can definitely get hurt, but martial arts also involves striking and that’s not a good image for schools.”

Despite the potential issues with implementing self-defense courses in schools, it could offer many benefits for students, including an overall improvement of mental and physical health. Self-defense classes could also provide students with the means to defend themselves. As more students pursue an education in self-defense, increased interest in the sport could strengthen the argument of why it could be beneficial to include in schools.