Consider adding a self defense class to your workout routine

Through USC’s Recreational Sports program on-campus gyms offer unlimited workout classes to students with the purchase of a $110 semester-long pass. Exercise classes that are currently offered include boxing, cycling, F45, Zumba and yoga.  

These classes present a great opportunity for students to stay active with a variety of options. However, the addition of a self defense class to the workout bundle at USC gyms would lead to benefits beyond a rise in endorphin levels. 

First and foremost, self defense classes are a beneficial means of teaching participants how to protect themselves. 

The Police Bureau of the City of Portland defines a self defense class as “a set of awareness, assertiveness, verbal confrontation skills, safety strategies and physical techniques that enable someone to successfully escape, resist and survive violent attacks.” 

Specific skills learned include chokeholds, grabs, takedowns, foot stomps, groin kicks and kicks to the sides of the knee. These skills are critical in a world where women’s safety is in jeopardy by simply walking down the street after sunset or going out for a jog in a sparsely populated area. 

A self defense class cannot  guarantee prevention of assault, and most importantly those who choose not to take self defense classes are not at fault if they are attacked. That blame lies solely on the attacker. 

However, self defense classes can offer the skills needed for people to feel more comfortable with defending themselves if a dangerous situation were to occur.  

A study conducted at the University of Washington found that apart from teaching people how to protect themselves, self defense also boosts self esteem, increases feelings of assertiveness and decreases levels of anxiety. 

USC currently offers students two different ways to take a self defense class: a self defense class and a Department of Public Safety training program. 

The one-unit class teaches “strategies for standing and ground fighting situations with and without weapons.” However, not everyone has room in their schedule to add an extra unit, which means a portion of the student body is prevented from taking this course. 

Additionally, DPS offers self defense classes through the Rape Aggression Defense System, a program taught at many different campuses. This program is more of a certification course than a workout class, and it requires 12 hours of hands-on training for a participant to receive a certificate of completion. This program is completely free, but students must fill out a form online to register.   

Although this certification course is free and accessible to everyone, students may not even know of its existence. Furthermore, some students may want more of a class setting they can return to throughout the semester rather than taking self defense as a training program that ends in 12 hours.

These resources show that USC is providing options for self defense education, but adding a self defense class to the workout pack in the USC gyms will make self defense a more commonly known and widely used resource on campus. Many students look at the workout class schedule on a weekly basis, which would bring much more attention to self defense classes.

In fact, the addition of self defense to the workout bundle could be as simple as infusing more self defense techniques into boxing or kickboxing classes instead of creating a whole new class.  

Students may be hesitant to register through an official program from DPS and may instead feel more comfortable just showing up for a workout class with their friends at the gym. Those who do not want to pay for a class pack may be more likely to find the DPS training after doing research for other self defense options. 

Self defense provides essential long-lasting skills, knowledge and effects that make it more meaningful than a way to burn calories for an hour. Because of its extreme importance, USC should add it as workout class for students to take at the USC gyms.