Elizabeth Smart Foundation teaches self-defense to USU students

The sound of 26 students screaming, “No!” filled the HPER building’s gym on April 5. 

The campus safety task force, under Utah State University’s Logan campus student body vice president, planned the self-defense training class with the Elizabeth Smart Foundation’s Smart Defense program.  

Lizzy Larsen, the task force’s director of campus safety, said, “This whole year we have been working on self-defense and making this campus safer for people who go here. We wanted an opportunity to have a self-defense class that was free of charge for students.” 

The two-hour seminar was an introduction to the self-defense program according to Miyo Strong, the Smart Defense program director. 

“We went over basic striking, situational awareness and bystander awareness — as well as learning how to use our voice paired with martial arts techniques,” Strong said. 

The 26 students screamed exclamations as they practiced palm or knee striking the four padded instructors.  

The voice is the first tool one can use while warding off a potential or actual attacker, according to Strong. It also helps to regulate breathing while fighting back.  

“Our program is a blend of three different martial arts: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing and Krav Maga,” Strong said.  

  Along with palm and knee striking, Strong and her three colleagues showed the students how to overpower and choke a perpetrator while they were lying on their backs.  

The students practiced with their peers and were given the choice of working with the two male instructors.  

One of the 26 students was Parker Rollins, a USU student and outdoor product design and development major. 

“It was really cool to learn some of the moves I wouldn’t have instinctively done and get some hands-on experience with both my friends and also men who are physically different,” Rollins said. 

The instructors promised the students that enthusiastic consent was important to their lesson and encouraged the students to get out of their comfort zone. 

“It is very uncomfortable for people to do what we do, but we ask that people push their comfort zones a bit while they are in here with us, so they can gain a full experiential treatment and gain the knowledge they need to take into the real world,” Strong said. 

After practicing breathing-focused meditation, the class ended with each person individually complimenting themselves verbally.  

Larsen said the class was a trial run to see if they should offer more training like this in the future.  

Strong hopes to have a class in the fall dedicated to self-defense with the Smart Defense program.  

“Our goal is to empower and educate women on the realities of sexual violence. Unfortunately, college women are a high-risk group. So, we really want to reach that group,” Strong said. 

Larsen and Rollins both believe the course was very empowering.  

“It was awesome to get that training to learn what I could and should do in a situation like this — definitely helps me feel safer,” Rollins said. 

-Andie.Allen@usu.edu

Featured photo by Elise Gottling