Daily Archives: April 22, 2019

Feminist Jiu Jitsu!

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Back in the beginning of March, I participated in a Gender Equity Week event. On Thursday, March 7th from 6:30-7:30pm, I was in the Silcox Gym in TD Arena learning about self-dense and jiu jitsu! The event was officially titled “Feminist Jiu Jitsu for Self Defense Training.” However, it welcomed individuals of all genders and identities to come learn a few moves to feel safer and confident as we move about our daily lives.

I will admit, I was a little skeptical when deciding on if I should go or not, just because I had never tried any sort of jiu jitsu or martial arts before. Also, I couldn’t find a friend that was free to go with me. But, I had a friend that went to middle school with me that had done jiu jitsu for several years, and ever since then, i vowed that I would try it one day. So I told myself I was gonna go no matter what (even if I was going to make a fool of myself or be a bit awkward at first).

So I went to the gym and the first thing I saw was a large mat (like what you would expect to see for a wrestling match) on the floor. That made me nervous, but yet intrigued, because like I said, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. There was a pretty large group of students there already. I started talking to a few people and quickly found out that the majority of them were all involved in one of the Women and Gender Studies courses and attending the event was mandatory for them. They all seemed excited though, and that made me feel more comfortable and excited too. Soon other students, outside of that class (like me), showed up too. Then a few minutes later, older students and a handful of adults came in, all dressed in the robe-looking things (typically referred to as a “gi” – I learned). One of them was the instructor of the Women and Gender Studies course, and then there was a husband and wife, who I found out actually teach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes at their place on James Island, as well as through a course in the College! I had no idea that there was an actual class available for sign-up at CofC where you could learn jiu jitsu – seriously, it counts for a PE credit, crazy! The other older students (there were about five girls) had either been members of their class they teach at the College or had been going to their separate practice.

They started by showing us a few demonstrations. It was insane! There was one 13-year-old girl and she was going against the adult man (he said he was 250 lbs) and she would literally flip him over her shoulder like it was nothing!

After they blew our minds, they explained that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is all about leverage and angles, not about strength. So this made more sense about how she was able to defend herself so easily against him. They explained that learning these moves and getting into the habit of practicing jiu jitsu is not only good for the body but for the mind as well. It was honestly so inspiring and so cool! For the next half, they showed us four moves for us to practice on each other and have to take away with us for the night. Although they were simple (e.g. how to break away from a simple arm-hold), they made you feel so empowered and a little more confident when walking around campus. It was such a cool experience and I am so glad I ended up going! I hope I go to another session like this (maybe over the summer?) and hopefully even take the course at CofC in the future!

 

Winona LaDuke: Taking Action for the Environment

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College of Charleston had an amazing opportunity this past week by having Winona LaDuke come and talk. I was actually able to leave another one of my classes early to be able to make this presentation. After seeing some of her work in many of my classes I was very excited to listen to her live and in person. It was an absolute privilege. The talk began with her displaying beautiful art and explaining the origin and meaning behind it, all of the art presented related to her heritage.  She lives “where the wild things are” on an earth reservation in Minnesota. She has the ability to grow and harvest natural foods like rice and natural corn.  She went on to talk about today’s changing environment and how “America was great” when there were 50,000 buffalo as well as native grasses. Instead of the now 28 million cattle that require industry of fossil fuels to raise and produce them. She then asked us how to create a post carbon economy due to us having no plan for climate change. LaDuke introduced the “Sitting Bull Plan” which helps indigenous tribes plan for climate change, otherwise known as the Green New Deal. The first step is to not waste as much energy and get efficient. “The future is solar” it has more jobs than fossil fuels and can produce loads of energy. Another solution is solutionary rails, most of the world already has train tracks but don’t use them as much as they should. Steel on steel uses 1/5 of the friction used on roads. Lastly, hemp textiles were introduced. They can produce twice as much per acre than cotton and not use as much water to make. While also being able to make water bottles, clothing, rope, milk, etc. After that she asked for question, one of the questions that stood out the most was “what can college students do?” he response was to have the ability to be critical and coherent thinkers.

This relates to our class for many different reasons, her talk to make this word a more sustainable place for all with little recommendations to make. As well as the article that we read about her work. And lastly, her talk of environmental injustice, reminded me of the case study of Warren County and the PCB landfill. She fights for bans on pipeline and her area has been taken over with big businesses trying to put pipelines in her area and releasing more carbon into the air. She believes they are putting them in that area because of the minority and low income of the people that inhabit the area. Which is a direct correlation to the Warren County case study.

Although I did not get a photo of myself at the presentation, I have the flyer that was released for the talk. I am still honored to be able to attend such a wonderful event. Thank you to everyone that provided help to this talk!

Alaska Gold

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I love documentaries and a friend of mine recommended “Alaska Gold” because he watched it in his environmental economics class and knew I would like it. It aired in 2012 on the network “Frontline”. The documentary was based on the Bristol Bay community which is located in southwest Alaska. The opening scene displays beautiful Alaska with a single fisherman boat. The captain is explaining how it is “like Christmas morning” because it is the opening day for fishing season.  Then the explanation of why Bristol Bay is so popular, it is one of the few places that still have the wild sockeye salmon. Considered some of the best salmon in the world.  Sixteen million fish returning from a single boat trip, it makes the largest fishery for salmon in the world. Bristol Bay is one of the planets most successful and sustainable harvest of wild salmon.  In addition to the large fishery, this area also has some of minerals that are highly sought out for like gold, molybdenum, and copper. The issue that brings the “Frontline” to do the documentary is that large mining companies want a piece of this “Alaska Gold” when they are not native to this area. They want to try and mine in the largest “open-pit” mines which is located in Bristol Bay. This pit is otherwise known as “Pebble Mine”.  This open-pit would directly affect the salmon spawning territory if Pebble Mine were to be built. It would cause irreversible damage to this pristine salmon habitat. Which would later lead to fisheries, the people, and the wildlife that rely on the fisheries (rather economically, socially, or environmentally) to be negatively impacted. The end of the document discussed how this was politically being addressed. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) will be helping to make the decision and will be a discussion for year to come on rather to allow these mines to be formed and how that will affect the fisheries.

This reminded me of the “Cup of Coffee” exercise and how everything can be affected in the environment just off one decision. The possible outcomes that could occur from Pebble Mine would spiral out and affect more things than it would help. But that also relates to the Triple Bottom Line concept. It would affect Alaska, more specifically Bristol Bay, socially because people eat this fish, celebrate this local fish, etc. and if they start to be depleted because of this mine that will directly impact people. In addition, economically this is a huge source of income for this area. If the salmon started to disappear it would drag people out of jobs, people will lose money, and would eventually lead a community into poverty. and lastly, it would directly impact the environment. The mining could do a number of things to affect this area like, distorting acres of salmon water areas like wetlands, ponds, and lakes. The risk of accident and pollution into these watersheds are also a high consideration.

I did some research to follow up and as of January of 2018, the EPA has announced that “The decision neither deters nor derails the application process of Pebble Limited Partnership’s proposed project.”. in other words, after many people fighting the incoming mines, the EPA suspended the decision until further notice. This documentary was very interesting and insightful for what is currently happening in the United States. This is one of the few sustainable examples of natural fishing and it is threatened by cherished mineral mining. I also provided the link below if other people care to watch it!

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/alaska-gold/

References:

“Alaska’s Bristol Bay & The Pebble Mine.” Earthjustice, 5 Mar. 2019, earthjustice.org/features/alaska-s-bristol-bay-the-pebble-mine.