York College Apprentice Launches Female Self Defence Class
Women’s Football Development Apprentice Chloe Harris has launched a Female Self Defence class for York College & University Centre students.
The class, which runs on Thursday lunchtimes from 12.15pm to 1.15pm, is being delivered in collaboration with martial arts club York School of Defence and is open to any female student enrolled on one of our courses.
A pilot session launched the first Female Self Defence class, where a strong turnout illustrated the interest within the female community at York College & University Centre. Apprentice Chloe saw a gap in our extra-curricular offering and believed that opening up our sports facilities to students from different curriculum areas would give everyone the chance to learn something new.
Women’s Football Development Apprentice Chloe Harris explained:
“I have no background in self defence, so this was something completely new to me.
“As part of my apprenticeship, I wanted to set up a class that females could get involved in, regardless of what they are studying.
“Physical activity is important for our well-being and self defence is an activity that is perhaps not as mainstream. It’s not your typical exercise class, but it’s an important skill for females to learn.
“I am currently in the second and final year of my apprenticeship and my role is to provide football provision for every girl aged 16 to 19. After I have completed my apprenticeship, I would like to go to university to study Sport and Exercise Science. It may be, though, that an employment opportunity comes up, so I am keeping my options open.”
The classes are run by Chris and Lauren from York School of Defence, where tuition in a variety of different martial arts and combative systems is provided. Business owner Chris believes that “everyone should learn at their own pace, enjoy themselves and leave each session somewhat wiser, a little bit fitter and with a smile on their face”.
Chris went on to say:
“Being bullied as a child got me into martial arts. I was initially sent to judo classes and I hated it. I then tried karate and I really enjoyed it - I’ve been bitten by the bug ever since!
“I do a lot of private lessons in my own home, and we hire out community centres on evenings throughout the week. As well as this, we also visit schools, colleges and the Scouts.
“I used to work in IT and I ran the class alongside my work as a hobby twice a week. Due to Brexit, I lost my IT business which pushed me to make the York School of Defence my main focus.
“The business has been building ever since and we now teach around 100 students. It’s been great fun!”
The next Female Self Defence class will be on Thursday 23rd November from 12.15pm to 1.15pm in the York College & University Centre Sports Hall.
There are a limited number of places available, priced at £5 per session.
Should there be a demand for further sessions due to popularity, we can look to facilitate more.
Opportunities such as these, allow us to work towards a better future in line with The Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”.
Which of the goals did this project benefit?
