from the July, 2014 issue of Kiai!

Yes, I've Used My Self-Defense Skills at College

 

By Halle Gold
Brown Belt

I’m done with my first year of college, and it feels so surreal. I just declared my education major and Chinese minor, I finished up my final papers, and I’ve already planned out my classes for next year. It’s unbelievable. However, there were a few hard times that I went through, where I felt that my time at karate had helped me use those times to my advantage so that I could grow from them. I have trained at Thousand Waves for roughly five years, and feel that I have been able to take what I have learned there and apply it in a collegiate setting.

One time where I had to apply my skills actually happened fairly recently. I have a learning disability, and because of that, I get extended time on tests. There was a Chinese test I was struggling with, and I had to go into my extended time to finish it. My teacher told me that I was just sitting there doing nothing and taking advantage of the extended time I had, which was not the case. However, she continued to say more and more to me while I just stood there and took it. I felt like I was being called slow.

I could have said something to her, but I didn’t. Instead, I used what I learned in the self-defense workshop taught by Senpai Kate Webster. I looked at the situation I was in and evaluated it. I was a student in front of a teacher, and while there was so much that I wanted to say, I knew that it would only escalate the situation and probably end up disrespecting the teacher in the end. That was something I did NOT want to do. Instead, I just stood there, took some deep and calming breaths while she talked, and took what she had to say before I left.

Of course, that’s not to say I wasn’t really angry about it afterwards. I felt personally insulted and felt that my teacher was fairly unprofessional by talking the way that she did to me. I made an appointment with the learning support center at school, and I also talked to a counselor, so that I could understand why my teacher said what she did and how I could best move past it.

The principles of self-defense I’ve learned and my karate training at Thousand Waves have benefitted me greatly while I attend Beloit College.  I miss Thousand Waves, and can’t wait to return this summer to train.