Kairos Church to host Women’s Self-Defense

Kairos Church invites women members to participate in the Women’s Self-Defense Class. (Photo taken from the church’s website)

Ladies at Karios Church are encouraged to join the Women’s Self-Defense Class to be equipped with some basic knowledge of defending themselves at Grappling Dynamics, Clairemont Mesa, on July 23.

The church announcement mentioned that the course would include a discussion on awareness and avoidance. They would also lecture on hands-on experiences and exercises. They highly suggest that women sign up as soon as possible, for there would be limited spaces.

Besides, it would cost $10 for the course. The website advised participants to prepare, wear comfortable athletic attire, and bring water.

They said they could sign up for the waitlist if the slots were complete. They might try to offer another class in the summer depending on the interest level, as posted on the website.

Self-Defense Could Boost Self-Esteem

The University of Washington website revealed that knowing self-defense skills helps women in ways beyond learning how to protect themselves.

It also boosts their self-esteem and positively impacts their personalities. This research is based on a new study from the University of Washington.

So, the study data also disagrees with the critics of self-defense programs. They claim such classes invite women to be more aggressive and violent.

Ronald Smith, a UW psychology professor and co-author of the study, stated that individuals who feel weak often use hostility and violence to protect themselves.

He added that they almost learned that “the best defense is a good offense.”

But, Smith said that women in this research who studied martial arts techniques like aikido and karate reported feeling more assertive. But they are less violent and aggressive. He also mentioned that researchers had only looked at the direct impact.

This effect includes being able to protect themselves.

Yet, there are ripple impacts that influence people’s whole lives, he added. Individuals told them that they felt more effective as people.

Less Anxious but More Effective People

Moreover, Smith added that the ripple effects they have seen in the self-defense learners were noted in his earlier research as well.

It says that self-defense taught UW students skills to master test anxiety.

He said that those who learned excelled in their anxiety tests.

Now, they generally feel less worried and more effective as individuals.

They are observing this in a personal empowerment framework. Smith said that they are trying to discover what causes these ripple effects. He also stated that they study how coping and learning skills positively impact situations beyond their target area.

Learning self-defense seems that ladies go from feeling good to considering their bodies more positively.

The website said they feel more assertive and willing to fight for their rights.

Meanwhile, the study's primary investigator, Julie Weitlauf, conducted a six-week self-defense course.

This class focused on rape and sexual assault prevention for the survey. There were 80 college students involved. Weitlauf said this was the first time that most of them threw a punch.

She emphasized that skills are vital, but their mindset is that they have the skills to care for themselves.

The most valuable lesson these women learned is not expertise. But she added the knowledge that they have the skills to avoid a situation from making violence.