I was heading for my boarding gate for a flight recently, and walked past a customer service desk where there was a bit of a commotion going on. Several airport police personnel as well as airline agents were gathered at the desk. At the centre of it all were a man and a woman. The man had his arm around the woman’s shoulders, while she seemed to be trying to make a statement, but was almost inconsolable with tears.
I didn’t linger to see what had happened, but as I made my way past I speculated that she must either have been robbed or assaulted in some way.
It was a sharp reminder for me that crime is actually never very far away, even in a place where security is supposed to be – almost literally – airtight.
It also reminded me that women are far more likely to be victims of crime – especially assaults – than men.
This is why what we do at the dojo is so important to me. We teach girls and women to be aware of their surroundings. We teach them to not look like victims; to walk tall and confidently. And of course we teach them to have a better chance of dealing with an assault should they need it. We can’t guarantee that they will be able to fight off any assailant, but we do give them tools that vastly improve their chances.
On the other (male) side of the dojo, we also hopefully teach boys and men to have respect for women and not to commit assaults in the first place.
I firmly believe that if martial arts were compulsory in every school then assaults on women would reduce, not (only) because women could defend themselves, but because the discipline and respect that we teach to boys would have a major impact on how they view and treat women.
Stamullen Martial Arts 