Cleveland College of Art and Design (CCAD) want to give students the very best experience whilst studying their degree. As part of this experience, students can join clubs and societies to try something a little different whilst they attend CCAD.

The Self Defence sessions allow students to learn practical skills to better protect themselves. This has added bonuses as well;

• Contributes to staying active thus providing physical health benefits
• Provides students with more personal confidence, which positively affects various aspects of life
• Get to know students from other programmes that they may have never met otherwise
• Deal with worries about personal safety

Sessions last for an hour each week, and are taught by an experienced and qualified instructor. The sessions include roleplaying scenarios, looking at effective means of defending oneself, and methods of escape.

Students are encouraged to think about scenarios they have been in, or that they are concerned about, and write it down on a post-it note. These notes are then used to build future sessions, so that they are entirely bespoke to the group and that students get exactly what they want out of the sessions!

Scenarios have included:

• Attacks from behind
• “I am grabbed by the arm and…”
• Dealing with larger opponents
• “I have been knocked down, what do I do?”

The sessions are currently on Wednesday evenings for an hour. With the positive response we have had from the sessions, we are looking to have more sessions after Christmas.

Training is being provided by Michael Egan from Guardian Self Defence. Michael has 2 Black Belts in Kickboxing and Self Defence, has been a practitioner of martial arts for over 13 years, has been a certified instructor for 8 years and is insured.

You can find out more information about Guardian Self Defence here: https://www.facebook.com/GuardianSelfDefence/ or email them at: guardianselfdefence@gmail.com.

If you are a student or staff member at CCAD, please come along to one of the sessions!

When: 5:15pm-6:15pm

Where: Lynn Street/Church Street cafe

Price: £2 a session