Path of Defense by Kira

Path of Defense by Kira - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

Instantly, I felt my ability to breathe vanish as the arms around my throat grew tighter. As my vision grew darker, my hands went from a light tap to rapid slaps on the person who held my neck tight. The grip loosened and I took the deepest breath grateful for the air I took for granted only moments earlier.
It was Thanksgiving evening in the year 2022 when my uncle, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National Champion, asked if he could teach me how to perform a choke hold. Not knowing how powerful it would be, I quickly said yes! While I did know that I was safe the entire time, and laughed it off the moment it was over, a very different thought creeped into my mind. At the time I was 15 and I had been lucky enough to not have been in any real life threatening events. Any stories that I heard about the darkness of the world were just that to me, only stories. But as the last breath left my lungs, the naiveness I had led me to a glimpse of hopelessness and panic. A chokehold is not a difficult move, and anyone who, unlike my loving uncle, could have very easily carried through with the attack and I would have had no idea on how I could save my own life.
While I would never consider myself a sheltered child growing up considering that I had been watching the news for a long time before this moment and I had heard countless horror stories from my uncle who didn’t live in the safest areas in the cities of New York, New Jersey, and Chicago, I realized my de-sensitization left me more naive than anything else. I realized that the largest danger to women, children, and really anyone, was the habit of being oblivious to your surroundings. A habit that I had been too comfortable with.
While there are many parts of my life that I am grateful to have, I was most grateful to my uncle, or more the pathway that he led me down. From that day on, I have learned an endless amount of self defence maneuvers through my commitment to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This has not only taught me to be more hyperaware, able to make quick decisions under pressure, and learn the values of always being calm, but even more than that, it has made me want to help other people as well.
It quickly dawned on me that I could continue to learn Jiu Jitsu for the rest of my life – and even though I would choose this – there is still an incredibly high possibility that I, and so many other people, can find themselves in inescapable dangerous situations. The chances of being outnumbered or an adversary having a weapon is a threat that everyone should attempt to avoid.
This final realization led me to the last significant moment in this process of defending myself. I decided to prepare my mind and help prepare others. Starting independently, I researched what I perceived could be my three major threats as a woman. This consisted of sexual assault, human trafficking, and general attacks within society. I interviewed many people who lived through one or more of these and I decided that the first action I could take would be educating the public on these harmful events that are more common than most people would assume. I first made brochures on what the threats were and advice on avoiding them, and if it came to it defending yourself if needed. Spreading these around my local community I was able to connect with many people interested in the topic.
This eventually grabbed the attention of a local organization entitled Freedom Fighters, a non-profit organization that raises money and awareness towards the cause of Human Trafficking. I shared much of my work with them and in turn they asked me to help plan events and become a public speaker for the youthful portion of our community. By my junior year I had become a Freedom Fighter Ambassador. I have now helped this organization for the last three years of my life. While I have helped people and learned an incredible amount through this process, it has also affected the person I am today. Specifically through my research and self defence training, I have learned the importance of how hard work in building for preparation will always give you an advantage in life. Through public speaking and fundraising, I have learned the benefits behind having confidence and humility that not only creates a version of you that is more capable in speaking to a crowd, but also one on one, which is crucial in a world where networking will change the outcome of your entire life.