Around 20 women gathered at the Concepcion Academy of Martial Arts on Thornton Road in Stockton, California, to attend a self-defense class aimed at helping Asian women feel safer amid a nationwide increase in hate crimes targeting their community.
Hosted by Tina Tagorda, assistant taekwondo instructor at the martial arts center, the workshop was in partnership with several organizations including Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities, Healing PUSO, The 209 API Coalition and Little Manila Rising.
The class covered basic self-defense techniques, such as kicking, punching, breaking free from being pinned to the ground, and various Muay Thai drills. Since 2017, Tagorda has taught four self-defense workshops, and she is now passionate about teaching people to stand up for themselves.
Nikki Chan, executive director of Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities, said that hate crimes against Asians in Stockton have not been reported to the police because of a misunderstanding of what constitutes a hate crime. The workshop also sought to educate community members about hate crimes and provide support to hate crime victims. The organizations will hold another self-defense workshop, open to both men and women, on April 29.
The workshop received a positive response, with participants saying that it had taught them valuable self-defense skills. Lailani Chan, a participant who has lived in Stockton for 40 years, said that she moved to Stockton from the Philippines when she was only six years old and believes it's important for all women to be able to fight back. In February, an elderly Filipino woman had her purse snatched, which contained her immigration papers, by two men at Walmart in Stockton. Her family later told CBS Sacramento that they feared it was part of a trend in violence toward Asian Americans.
Nikki added that her organization recently created a fund to help support community members who have been victims of hate crimes. The fund was able to help pay for the Filipino woman's green card replacement, which can cost up to $540 to replace.
