It’s an unfortunate fact that street violence, particularly using knives, is increasing in many parts of the UK. It’s a trend that especially felt by females and was brought to our attention by the shocking murder of Sarah Everard in 2021, who was last seen walking alone down a main road in Clapham. Sarah’s death and that of Zara Aleena, Sabina Nessa and many others has reignited a national conversation about the safety of women and girls.
In England and Wales, a total of 40,572 women were victims of sexual assault in the year ending September 2021 (the last year for which statistics were produced) and in the same period, 41,332 women were victims of rape, although we know that this latter number is vastly under-reported.
We believe every woman and girl deserves the right to walk our streets unmolested and free from worry, but unfortunately, that has proven not to be the case.
While we can and should consider what we can do as a society to enable this, as a community kickboxing club we are doing something tangible. Applying our martial arts experience, we teach practical street self-defence at our classes in Kings Langley, Harpenden, St Albans and Mill Hill and thereby equip our students to have the confidence and the skills to defend themselves.
Effective self-defence is more than technique; it’s also based on street awareness. Shaolin Kickboxing can provide this total level of training. A Muay Thai or Karate class alone cannot do this. Self-defence, and particularly that against a bigger or stronger attacker is a standard part of the Shaolin Kickboxing syllabus.
Females aged 8-80 are welcomed warmly at all our classes whose instructors (many of whom are female) are all certificated in First Aid and have undertaken enhanced checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).