Students, faculty and staff got a free self-defense class that aimed to help them feel safe and learn basic skills to protect themselves in case of an attack.  

Some who attended the class on Feb. 24 said the one-time opportunity to learn basic self-defense skills was not enough. They want DMC to provide more opportunities to continue learning the skills .   

Amie Valdez, a student assistant at the Student Success Center said that learning how to defend yourself, although basic, is a necessity. Being female and leaving campus when its dark, which Valdez and others has have done.

“I’ve been on campus when it’s dark … it’s something I want to be aware of and give myself a better chance, should anything occur.” But she hopes DMC continues to offer the self-defense trainings because ”you can’t just learn this kind of training in two hours,” Valdez said.

The lessons were held on Feb. 24 at the DMC Heritage campus gym. One class was for women and another class was co-ed. and taught by Janet Kamps and Vicki Bosman who both have more than two decades of experience in martial arts. Kamps is also the DMC director of E-learning.

The class featured lessons in basic drills and a practice of situational awareness with Krav Maga techniques.

Kamps started with a few examples that lead into real life situations. She emphasized on a victim’s reaction and what to do to protect yourself.

For example, if a person were to grab your wrists, arms, hair, shoulders, from behind or walking up to you, the students would have an idea of what techniques to use to get away or defend themselves.

According to data from the Department of Justice, one in five women may experience rape or attempted rape during their college years, with less than five percent of these incidents being reported. 

“I walk this world as a single woman and people pray on that, I want to be able to defend myself when I travel. I could get comfortable in my routine.” said Leticia Wilson, DMC director of Advising Initiatives. “That’s when people look at your habits. If this was regular training, I wouldn’t be on fight or flight mode.”

According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, domestic violence and sexual assault disproportionately impacts young women and those with lower incomes, and certain minority communities. Women between the ages of 20-24 face the highest risk of nonfatal domestic violence, while women aged 24 and under endure the highest rates of rape.

Where race is considered, African American women face higher rates of domestic violence than white women, and Indigenous women fall victim at a rate double to other races.

“As a Black woman and a public face, it can make me an even greater target. If this was regular, it would be beneficial,” said Rev. Tracey Anderson-Tellado.

“It’s easy to do the one-off class but it doesn’t guarantee that those movements will be enacted. I don’t want to hurt anybody, but I want to be comfortable enough to protect myself from someone who wants to hurt me.”

Anyone who is interested in learning more about self-defense courses can go to the Star Taekwondo Academy CCTX Facebook page. Or go to more  www.stars-TKD.WEB.com for more information.