Asians take defense class to empower themselves

A group of New Yorkers took a New York Police Department's self-defense class on Sunday, part of a new movement to empower the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in response to a spike in anti-Asian hate attacks.

"How can we not become a victim? By being aware of your surroundings. When someone is not paying attention, that's the perfect time for others to start to attack you," said John Wind, the main instructor of Sunday's self-defense class sponsored by the NYPD.

"If someone is looking at you, just be mindful and know what's behind you. Be aware of people who are watching you," Wind added.

The Asian-Hate Crime Seminar and Free Self-Defense Workshop, organized by the Asian Hate Crime Task Force in conjunction with the America China Public Affairs Institute and Wind Jiu Jitsu, a martial arts school based in New York City, attracted more than 100 participants.

"This anti-hate workshop that the police department offered to the Asian community is to bring awareness, basic techniques and knowledge of (self-defense), how to not become a victim," said NYPD Inspector Tommy Ng, the commanding officer of the Asian Hate Crime Force assigned to patrol the borough of Queens.

The youngest participant in the workshop was 16 years old. With some elders participating, the event helped the Asian community network with their neighbors and friends, Ng said. Seven instructors attended the workshop, including several police officers, a US Army veteran, a detective, and a teacher.

"The self-defense we taught today is under the style of Brazilian jujitsu," said Wind, who has been practicing martial art and combat sport for more than 23 years and teaching self-defense for over 17 years.

"We work on twisting the arm or getting out of chokeholds. So for someone smaller, they can overcome a bigger person," he said.

Learning skills

Kathy Jiang, 30, a New Yorker new to martial arts, said she had learned many ways to protect herself. "I hope these skills will never come in handy. But if something does happen, at least I have some basic skills to protect myself."

Sunday's workshop was held in Manhattan's Chinatown, where several anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported this year. As of May 9, the city has seen 81 anti-Asian hate crimes.

The latest statistics from Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit organization that tracks incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the US, showed self-reported incidents of racism and hate crimes jumped from a cumulative 3,795 between March 2020 and February 2021 to a total of 6,603 within just one month in March 2021.

"We know how important it is to help the public to feel safe and confident. These crimes are out of control; it should not be like this. We are all here to stop hate and racism," Wind said.