International Student Safety

08/06/2012

In the wake of a violent attack on two Chinese students on a Sydney train in April 2012, Senior Instructor Tristan Fung was interviewed on self-defence and international student safety in the June 2012 edition of Citywalker Magazine.

In the article, Inst. Tristan mentioned the importance of being alert, aware of your surroundings and not presenting yourself as an easy target for a would-be robber or assailant. Inst. Tristan recommended that students follow the NSW Police's recently published Personal Safety for Students – Crime Prevention Tips.

Inst. Tristan also discussed the importance of being able to defend yourself in a self-defence situation. He said that you can't always rely on your partner or friend to protect you from danger as there's always the chance that you might encounter a larger group of attackers or get caught out on your own. He also mentioned the phenomenon of the 'bystander effect'; the more members of the public that there are around you during a confrontation, the less likely it is that an individual will come to your assistance.

Inst. Tristan concluded with the advice that learning an effective self-defence system and knowing how to defend yourself in a fight will give you a level of confidence which will deter potential attackers and allow you to deal with troublemakers in a calm manner and without resorting to violence.

As part of the article, Inst. Tristan also demonstrated a few example self-defence scenarios.