Students Participate in Self-Defense Seminar

College students and adults gathered at Olson’s Martial Arts Academy in downtown Johnson City for a self-defense class on Sept. 20. The class was hosted for free by a few of the instructors and volunteers of the academy. 

The main instructor for the seminar was Amanda Olson, who has been training in martial arts for 41 years and has earned an eighth-degree black belt. She and her husband, Glenn, own the academy which has been around for more than three decades.

This particular self-defense class, which focused on college students, is held a few times a year, especially at the start of a new semester. 

This is the only planned session before Christmas, but there is a potential for more classes in the spring. 

 “It’s the beginning of the school year so there’s a lot of new people and individuals living on their own for the first time,” said Bekah Price, one of the instructors. “We wanted to help give them a basic skill set to feel confident.” 

“What we cover are realistic situations that have defenses that are simple and straightforward that someone without a martial arts background can understand,” says Price. “We’re not going to cover anything advanced. We’ll look at situations that people could really see happening and help them build confidence to react the right way.” 

Some of the basic skills taught on Saturday were: ways to escape different kinds of holds on the body, the proper way to throw hits and kicks and how to get off the ground in case the victim stumbles. 

“I hope people gain simple techniques that they can remember long term that can save their life one day,” says Amanda Olson, “We didn’t go over anything hard. Everything was pretty basic, easy to remember.” 

Olson, who has trained in self defense, explained that they like to do this kind of class with many different groups, but this specific class is done every quarter. She has taught self-defense for 25 years, but she has been practicing and training in martial arts since she was 10-years-old. “It’s just something I fell in love with and never quit,” says Olson.

At the end of the class, statistics were handed out to everyone who participated to inform them of how real assault is. The statistics came from RAINN.org.

Headline photo: The core staff of Olson’s Martial Arts Academy (left to right): Glenn Olson, Amanda Olson, Katie Olson, and Keith Olson.