Self-Defense Course Teaches Life Skills for Teens and College Students

from the June, 2009 issue of Kiai!

Self-Defense Course Teaches Life Skills
for Teens and College Students

by Kate Webster

Jacob Blocking High school and college are exciting times for teens and young adults as they stretch new-found wings of freedom and independence from their parents. However, with this new autonomy come safety issues and concerns about difficult situations that teens and young adults may face. At Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center, we help to provide teens and young adults with a wide range of life skills that can be used, and have been used successfully by others, not only to stay safe, but also to feel more confident, grounded, and aware.

As they move toward independence, teens and young adults establish networks of friends and peers that begin to take primacy over their familial bonds. If things go well, a peer network will help a teen or young adult to develop a realistic sense of self and a positive self-image. Unfortunately, as they develop increasing autonomy, teens and young adults also are more likely to encounter certain forms of violence. Young adults in high school and college may have to cope with a wide range of disturbing circumstances including verbal harassment from strangers or fellow classmates, physical fights over trivial issues, emotional harassment and cyber bullying (particularly among girls), dating pressures, and disgruntled customers in their places of work.

In our self-defense training, Thousand Waves teens and young adults learn effective life skills to respond to a wide range of difficult and potentially violent situations by implementing strong and assertive verbal techniques to solve problems, so as to avoid using physical self-defense skills when possible. For example, students learn that if someone pesters them for their phone number at a college party and they don’t want to give it out, they have the right to use their voices to set boundaries, and to say no.

One teen student explained it this way:

“The most valuable piece of wisdom I’ve learned at Thousand Waves is that I am strong and worth defending. I share this with all my friends, because I feel like it helps keep all of us safe: it can influence the decision to not get involved in a potentially dangerous situation” (Zoe).

Another teen describes the effectiveness of using de-escalation skills that he learned in our
12-hour Five Fingers of Self-Defense course. He is employed parking cars for people attending Cubs games and customers occasionally try to drag him into verbal fights. He has found that, rather than arguing with them, he can set a boundary and use his voice to de-escalate the situation by saying: “I am sorry, but I cannot give you a discount. You need to ask my boss.” (Avery).

Even for those who are lucky enough to avoid immediately threatening situations, self-defense training enhances the life skill of self-confidence. As one Thousand Waves teen recently said:
“I am not often in a situation where I feel I have to physically defend myself, but knowing I could gives me the confidence I need to first think, yell, and run; rather than panic. Plus, confidence can be felt, and that alone may stop a potential fight”(Ethan).

Our summer 12-hour Five Fingers of Self-Defense Course will be offered Saturdays from 1:00-4:00 starting July 11 through Aug 1. We encourage all high school and college age students who are interested in learning more about these self-empowerment skills to take the course. Bring a friend! Also, if you know a teen or young adult who could benefit from these skills before heading back to school or college, consider buying him or her a gift certificate for the course. Self-defense courses are open to all. You need not be a karate student to attend.