Muggers, 'don't mess'
By Hilaire Fong
Jan. 21, 2003 9:00 p.m.
While kicking and punching their way through martial arts
classes, students are having fun as well as learning
self-defense.
On campus, students are learning to protect themselves by taking
martial-arts classes at the Wooden Center and classes specifically
for self-defense through the UCLA Center for Women & Men.
Jiu Jitsu is one of the many martial-arts classes offered at the
Wooden Center.
Jeffrey Osofsky, a second-year psychology student and member of
the UCLA Tae Kwon Do team, is taking Jiu Jitsu mostly for exercise
and fitness and partly for self-defense.
“Jiu Jitsu is a great style of fighting, and it seems more
practical than other forms of martial arts,” said Osofsky.
“You can use it in real-life situations.”
“It gives you all the elements you need to handle yourself
in a given situation, including grappling, grabbing, and forcefully
holding your opponent,” said Aaron Briley, teacher of
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the Wooden Center.
Jiu Jitsu is a good class for women to take and is a great
solution for types of attacks by men, Briley said.
“It is a confidence builder,” said Patricia
Calimlim, a first-year molecular, cell and developmental biology
student who is taking the class. “If I am out, I feel I can
do something.”
Martial arts teaches practicing students a certain philosophy
and attitude about self-defense.
“After practicing martial arts, you start becoming aware
and responsive about what is going on around you,” Osofsky
said.
Martial arts gives you the ability to think clearly before
deciding the most appropriate action to take, Briley said.
“It is like an insurance policy when there are no other
means of escape or avoiding the situation,” he said.
“Nine times out of 10, a true martial artist will choose a
non-violent action,” he continued.
The Center for Women & Men also offers self-defense classes
that are facilitated by the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults
against Women.
“These classes focus on the whole area of women defending
themselves,” said Tina Oakland, director of the Center for
Women & Men.
“They practice assertive communication, voice as a weapon,
the concept of protecting yourself and the awareness of
environments,” she said.
Self-defense utilizes the body without having to rely on defense
objects that have to be purchased.
“Your body is a natural source of protection,” said
Oakland. “It is with you 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.”
“The classes provide a unique form of empowerment that
helps women realize that protecting themselves is one of their
unalienable rights,” Oakland said.
Men are also eligible to sign up for self-defense classes and
will be placed in the men-only class.
The classes, one of which is in the residence halls, are
generally offered three to four times per quarter and are free of
charge to any registered students and faculty members who sign up
for them. Class sign-ups are in the office for the Center of Women
& Men, located in Dodd Hall, Room 2.
On-campus residents note the importance of self-defense but say
that other measures should be taken to insure their safety in the
dorms, especially after the recent crime, a sexual assault that
occurred in De Neve Plaza on Dec. 5, 2002.
“We need to start on the level of getting to know people,
recognizing faces, and see who is swiping into the building,”
said Calimlim.
“Then if you feel you need more safety, you should
continue on a personal level,” she continued.
“Students need to get De Neve closer together as a
community,” said Monica Voinea, first-year computer science
student.
For more information on the three upcoming classes, students can
call the Center for Women & Men at 310-825-3945.
