The Self-Defense Club is a club at Amador that helps ensure the safety of students. It is important to have self-defense skills and be able to protect oneself.  The Self-Defense Club teaches the necessity of having a self-defense club and having such skills. 

The club was first started in 2018 by two students who wanted to share their knowledge. They wanted to share what they’ve learned at a Taekwondo studio with fellow students at Amador.

“Two people who started the club graduated last year. They started when they were freshmen. They started it because they did TaekwonDo self-defense, and they wanted to share what they knew about self-defense,” said Officer Juhi Goyal (‘24).

One of the students that created the club even has a sibling who participates in it now, Kaustuvh Lole (‘25). He shares what he’s learned from his sister and can now turn it into a learning experience for club members.

“I heard about the club through my sister. She actually founded it. Before she graduated, I joined, and when she graduated, I became an officer,” said Lole.

Statistics show every 40 seconds a child gets kidnapped or put into a dangerous situation where they can not fight back. That’s why it’s important that the Self-Defense Club provides access to self-defense training. 

 “Even though we live in Pleasanton, which is a very safe community, I still feel like when we travel outside of Pleasanton, there can be situations that are very dangerous. It’s necessary to protect yourself. When you are in high school, you won’t always be with your parents,” said Janaki Rakesh (‘25). 

Despite being at an impressionable age, it is important for high schoolers to know self-defense skills now rather than later. Having an easily accessible learning environment like the Self-Defense Club helps students to learn to protect themselves.

“I pretty much recommend joining the club to anyone who’s not planning to be with someone 24/7. I recommend it to people who want to defend themselves and feel safe in college or high school itself,” said Rakesh.