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how come They don't teach self defense in school
This is something we will actually need! Soccer and jump rope may be fun, but defense is important. We could be threatened on the street, challenged,etc. Us girls need it the most. We are in risk of rape, domestic violence,etc. In gym boys do wrestling for a unit while girls do yoga. I have 3 arguments against that
1. Downward dog isn't gonna protect you from sexual harassment.
2. Girls need to know how to fight more whether society likes it or not, since we can't rely on natural strength
3. It won't even help boys defend themselves because say they are being jumped, by 3 or more guys 1 on 1 combat will be useless and you'll need to do more then to hold them down for 3 seconds to be able to get away and alert the cops
They need to be talking to us about the dangers of the real world and how to defend ourselves, it's not gonna be inappropriate, it'll be useful and it won't disturb/scare. And even if it does, we'll be glad we learned it when we still have our hard earned money, or not have AIDS, and we'll skip a lot of much more traumatizing experiences.
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I agree with what Razhie has written though I also see your point. In the case of rape it is important to know how to defend yourself for in most instances of rape it is a one on one crime. When it is more than one it is usually because you are someplace you thought was safe such as a party or a friend’s house.
One on one self-defense skill can be useful if there is no weapon involved. What is important in a crime of violence is to survive. If the person attacking has a knife or a gun it is best to do as they say, try and keep calm and look for an opening to save yourself without being further harmed by the weapon they may have.
You make a point that young women, especially young women going off to college should have some form of self-defense training. This has been a needed skill for a long, long tome back before even your grandmother went to high school. You probably won't win the battle today or even while you are in public school. Someone though has to take on the challenge to change the minds of those who are responsible for educating our children.
This would be your local Board of Education. Following the State Board of Education guidelines and mandates they chose how to deliver your primary education. A self-defense class could be delivered as an elective, extra-curricular or mandatory class depending on how they decide to implement one should you be successful in convincing them to do so.
If you are willing to take up this challenge I have an organization you could call that might be willing to assist you. The organization is called RAINN which stands for Rape, Abuse, Incest, National Network. They operate a national hotline to help victims of these crimes and abuses. They also have programs they run to help educate and stop these crimes. They may be willing to help you with making your call for this training to the Board of Education. You can call them at 1-800-656-HOPE or go to their web site at, [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
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Actually, self defense classes that focus on training you to be physically violent have been shown to be very harmful. They give people a false sense of security and don't actaully make them more capable of handling violent attacks. The bravado and false empowerment of those sorts of physical training actually gets people hurt more often, and more badly hurt.
The better technique is to teach young people, men and women, to avoid situations as best as they can, to defuse risky encounters, and how to look for support or safety when they sense danger.
Since most victims of violence (especially in the case if young women) are attacked by intimate partners, in their own homes, teaching young people about healthy relationships and to recognize abusive situations in the early stages actually does way more to keep people safe and healthy, then trying to teach them 'self defense' moves that really, really don't work well unless you are exceptionally well trained and practice regularly.
Meeting violence with violence is almost never the best way to keep yourself safe.. There are no magical skills or moves that can make up for a 50 to 100 lb weight difference, or change the odds of 3 on 1 fight. We do not live in the movies. When we act like we do, reality kicks our ass. Self defense classes are a kind of fantasy wish-fulfillment. They are not real skills that can actually help people avoid violence. The skills that can actually help a person avoid violence are recognizing the risks and minimizing them as much as possible and responding appropriately before violence happens.
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I'm sure there are a lot of educators even at school who would love for students to have such training.
However, you have to look at two factors. First, martial arts is a specialty and not something that just anyone can instruct you in on a regular basis. They would have to contract an expert to come in and do this. No doubt the cost of hiring someone who only does a class per week or along that line is too high despite benefit.
What you could do is approach the admin of your school and mention that you see more value in self-defense techniques than yoga or some other form of gym and don't understand why males are shown wrestling and you aren't and highlight what you stated above.
Ask them if it would be possible to have a martial arts expert in to teach 3-4 90 minute sessions of techniques and make it open to everyone based on space. See what they think as there may be ways they can make something work.
The downside is that some not all educators feel that kids being street smart and able to defend themselves is on the kid and their parents to pay for and educate outside of the school. You may deal with that mentality but likely not.
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