It is of utmost importance that students feel safe and secure both on and off campus. To assist with this, LUU is launching Self-Awareness Educational seminars in collaboration with the Martial Arts societies. Society Editor Mary Lumley urges you to come and get involved…
LUU is partnering with a number of the Martial Arts societies to provide ‘self-awareness seminars’ which will run throughout November. The identical seminars will teach basic self-awareness and self-defense skills to help students become more street wise and feel safer at night around Leeds.
They will be led by Gina Kousopoulou who is highly proficient in multiple martial arts including Taekwondo, Urban Krav Maga and Kickboxing. Gina currently teaches boxercise at the Edge, is a psychology lecturer and coaches for LUU Kickboxing & Krav Maga. She will be assisted by Martial Arts representative Xenia Mutter as well as committee members from the Muay Thai, Kickboxing & Krav Maga and Wing Chun societies.
The session will comprise of both didactic (situational awareness, verbal/non-verbal de-escalation, personal safety) and defence elements. The syllabus will include strikes such as open palm strikes, groin strikes, eye gouges, push strikes and neck-strikes. Most importantly, attendees will be shown defences against wrist grabs, neck chokes, straight punching, headlocks as well as how to escape from the mount position.
Overall, participants should leave with a heightened awareness and confidence of how to act appropriately in a variety of possible street attack situations such as nightclubs, at home, in isolated locations and attacks from behind (such as at ATM machines.)
There will be a stress drill at the end of the session in the techniques covered at that session in which pupils should aim to react appropriately in as less time as possible. Each participant will be presented with a certificate at the end of the session.
Each session has 300 places, will be held at Stylus (the nightclub in the union) from 5-7pm and cost £2 on the door. There are three repeat sessions to choose from on the 6th, 8th or 15th November.
You can find more information on the martial arts societies by visiting the LUU website and, if you have any queries, please contact Xenia Mutter by emailing her at sd15xmm@leeds.ac.uk. We hope to see you there!
Like the LUU Self-Awareness Facebook page here
Mary Lumley