Zhong is working with SGA to host the workshop; he presented his program to them last Tuesday

By Edward Jennings, Staff Writer

Published in print Jan 21, 2015.

Last semester, it became a common thing to see “UNCG Alert” appear in students’ iSpartan email.

The UNCG Police Department would send out a timely warning to brief students on the sexual assault case that had been reported to them.

Over the span of roughly five months, there were six sexual assault cases reported to the campus police.

With the assaults appearing more than usual, the Student Government Association and graduate student, Frank Zhong, decided to collaborate and hold self-defense events to prepare students better for these types of circumstances.

Frank Zhong is a taekwondo instructor for KIN 272, and a graduate student pursuing his master’s degree in exercise physiology, all at UNCG.

Also, Zhong is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo.

Zhong and Helder Gomes—who Zhong has trained under before—will instruct the self-defense classes.

Gomes was in the United States Marines, until he was injured during active duty training.

He was honorably discharged from active duty and became—and remains—a service-connected disabled veteran.

After his military career, Gomes started his program, Natural Training Center Combatives, which he will instruct to UNCG students.

Gomes possesses a background in Russian and Filipino martial arts. To perfect his craft, he has traveled internationally to Germany and the United Arab Emirates to train military and special police.

Gomes has also trained police in his local area of New Jersey.

Students can expect hands-on demonstrations of how to break holds and apply principles to escape attackers.

“There will be a lot of practicing with partners, watching demonstrations and understanding how things apply and why things apply,” Zhong said.

Zhong added, “There will be Q&A sessions afterwards, in case people want to stay and ask questions.”

Zhong made it clear that with these self-defense classes, the main goal is efficiency and simplicity.

Gomes and Zhong want to teach techniques and basic principles so students can have the ability to apply them right away, if needed.

Zhong stated, “You don’t have to be a super athletic person or a world-class martial artist to be able to do it.”

UNCG’s campus police teach a self-defense program called Rape Aggression Defense (RAD).

Zhong said that he’s seen, from the website, that the participants of RAD are in full padding and practice full contact.

“This is important,” Zhong said, “but they also have to consider when it’s a situation where they might be assaulted walking around campus and won’t be able to have those big pads.”

The martial arts tactics can help to obtain a “do-whatever-works mentality,” as Zhong calls it.

This can benefit people in real-life situations to do what needs to be done to protect themselves, even learning improvised weapons techniques, which will be taught in the class.

The classes will be held on Jan. 27, Jan. 28 and Jan. 30.

The classes have spots for up to 45 students who wish to participate, and as many people that can fit in the room are allowed to observe.

The classes will be provided for free.