May Wong practices the self-defense techniques she’s learning every Tuesday at 11 am at 189 Allen Street on the Lower East Side.
Our instructors Kip (in the protective equipment) and Sammy are helping seniors learn the skills they need to protect themselves from rising violence against #AAPI communities, thanks to support from the Alicia and Jason Lee Foundation.
NBC’s Noreen O’Donnell and Nina Lin report on the self-defense classes we’re offering, and classes like them around the country.
May Wong rarely goes out these days, afraid of being assaulted on the street in New York City. One exception is a senior center near Manhattan’s Chinatown, where she attends a self-defense class.
She is there twice a week to learn what to do if someone accosts her.
“Now, if anyone harasses me, I can help defend myself a little,” said Wong, who is in her 70s and retired from a job in a garment factory.
She was among about a dozen mostly women who lined up one weekday morning at University Settlement’s senior center, pushing away an instructor with a kick. She has heard of people being shoved onto subway tracks and worries, though she has not been attacked herself.