Ashtyn Britt
abritt@lc.edu

Recently a few two-hour Martial Arts training classes were offered for free to students in honor of National Campus Safety Awareness Month. There were three options for the free defense class offered during late September, and had been registered with the Campus Security for which date the attendee wanted to reserve a spot.

As many people arrived, the trainers, who are experts in self defense, showed basic moves to everyone about how to defend themselves against a potential attacker.

The entire class then would practice each move with the trainers wearing protective padding, and were encouraged to not hold back. While some stumbled a bit clumsily at first, after words of kind encouragement and the chance to keep trying until they felt confident, each move became easier for all the attendees.

This was a wonderful opportunity for the Lewis and Clark Community College students and faculty, helping people to learn more about self defense and gain more confidence in a situation where they could be attacked.

The attendees were also then paired to carefully practice certain escape moves with each other, creating a nice sense of bonding and confidence for those who participated.

The teacher made a point at the end of the course to say nobody becomes a master of fighting after only one day of training, but even one class is still a big step in the right direction for learning to protect one’s self. Hr then gave his business information to anyone who asked for it, being interested in his personal classes off campus. However, unlike the ones offered in campus, his classes would cost money.

The free course, even as short as it was, offered an enriching and empowering experience to those who attended. With any luck in the future, Lewis and Clark will make this class a recurring one to help students learn to further protect themselves.