The self-defense seminar was incredibly useful and enlightening. I think the importance of self-defense, especially as a woman, needs more emphasis in today’s society. I think it is incredibly important to learn how to defend yourself so you can escape bad situations. As a pretty small female, I really appreciated the simple techniques that were taught in the seminar, and I can see them being very effective in practicing self-defense. There is something very empowering about feeling like you could defend yourself if needed, and I like feeling like I can take care of myself. I would enjoy taking a more extensive self-defense class in the future to build on what I learned in this seminar.

I also really appreciated the perspective of a self-defense teacher from Myanmar. She explained how different the culture was there and how much more dangerous it is for women. It puts things in perspective and reminds you that other countries have situations that are a lot worse than ours in the United States. I think the work that Kyaw Thein is doing is amazing, and I am so grateful that I got to learn from her.