When going off to college, one of the most important things any young adults can do is to equip themselves with fundamental safety and self-defense knowledge.

The truth of the matter is, no matter what age, gender, race, size or shape you are, you are vulnerable to incidences of violence and threats to your safety.

We spoke to self-defense experts and university counselors on the top 10 safety tips that Beijing teens – and their parents – should know before heading off to university.

1. Know your campus and your city.

“Do your research early,” says Michelle Chow-Liu, head of high school counseling at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) and president of the International Association for College Counseling. “Look at the universities you apply to. Think about what the area’s like, what the crime rate is around the university, what places are safe or not.”

It’s also important to know how to get around without GPS – if your phone runs out of power, you don’t want to be lost and alone late at night.

One of the best sources of information is the college or university’s orientation for international students. “If you’re a citizen of the country where you’ll be headed for university, but have lived abroad most of your life, then take the orientation for international students,” says Chow-Liu.

Orientations typically cover a lot of practical information about the city, as well as key resources available to students. These can include emergency numbers, late night shuttle services, crime prevention training, active shooter guidelines, sexual assault prevention and reporting, cyber safety, etc.

2. Don’t isolate yourself.

“A lot of kids decide to live off campus instead of the school dorm, with no roommate,” says Jonathan Mellen, IBDP Coordinator and University Guidance Counsellor at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS). “This makes it difficult because if something happens, you can’t just call your parents in the middle of the night to help you. You need people you can reach out to.”

Once you get to campus, build your networks. Join the student fellowships and associations, including those for international students, Asian-Americans, Chinese students, etc. “The more you’re connected in your university,” Mellen says, “the greater your safety net is.”

3. Be strategic about your daily routine.

Whether you’re walking home or headed out for a jog, take the safest routes. Stay on well-lit, populated pathways. Avoid cutting through alleyways, parking lots, or parks at night. Have a few different options for your regular routes and switch them up, to prevent anyone from knowing your routine. If possible, travel in groups or with a friend, especially at night or in unfamiliar places.

“If you feel someone is following you, try to change course a few times and check what they do, or see if they stop when you stop, or pass you by,” says Von Ng, China director of Krav Maga Global, a training center in Beijing for Israeli self-defense and combat system Krav Maga. “If you think you’re being followed, do not go straight home. Go to a crowded place, find a shop or security guard, and ask for help.”

As a habit, have your keys out and ready before you enter your residence or as you walk to your car – especially at night or in an empty parking lot. Make sure to check your surroundings as you approach your door, to ensure no one is behind you.

Krav Maga students are introduced early on to the realities of bladed weapon threats and attacks, and learning how to make good decisions when faced with this kind of danger.

Learning to strike is core to any self-defense system.

Krav Maga students learn how to use shield-type objects like a backpack when dealing with danger.

4. When in public, don’t be distracted by your devices.

“When you’re on the street, in the bus, subway, or even in a car, don’t have music blasting in your headphones or be glued to your phone,” says Ng. “You need to be able to spot a potentially dangerous situation, but if you’re tuned out, it’s easy to get caught unaware.” If you look distracted, you’re also an easier target for people with ill intent.

Ng says that people especially tend to let their guard down in public places that they’re familiar with, like libraries, jogging paths, coffee shops, or gymnasiums. “Threats to your safety can happen in any of these places. It’s not about being paranoid, but about being able to react and get out if danger arises.”

5. Lock your home and car doors and keep your valuables out of sight.

At 3am on Jun 22, 2020, Terry Ma, a graduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, discovered an intruder in his off-campus duplex. “We locked the first floor doors and windows,” he recounts, “but the intruder climbed the front porch and got in through the second floor window.” The burglar fled when he was discovered, and luckily no one was hurt.

“Lock your doors and windows – dorm room door, car door, garage door, kitchen windows, bedroom windows, etc. – even when you’re inside,” says Ng. “And don’t leave your valuables in plain sight, like by a street-facing window in your apartment, or on the dashboard of a parked car.”

6. Be attentive in public transport – even in an Uber.

If you’re taking a bus, use well-lit and busy stops whenever possible. Don’t fall asleep or be glued to your devices when you’re in any kind of public transport, including a taxi or Uber.

With ride-hailing services like Uber, make sure to check the license plate on the car before getting in. If there’s another person in the car with the driver, don’t get in. Uber explicitly states that “no one other than the requesting rider and the rider’s guests are permitted in the vehicle.” Make sure you determine the route, and track it on the app if it’s not a route you’re familiar with. If you’re inebriated, have a sober friend accompany you on the ride.

If you’re distracted by your devices, it’s easy for people to sneak up behind you.

7. Set your boundaries, trust your instincts, and advocate for yourself.

Don’t be too nice to strangers, especially if you are alone. Asking for “help,” whether it’s asking for directions, the time, assistance, etc., is a common distraction tactic. Don’t let people you don’t know get close to you, and when going into your apartment building, don’t hold the door open for strangers – even for deliveries. “Trust your instincts, and don’t worry about seeming rude,” Ng says.

With people you know, the same rule applies. “When people test your boundaries – whether they are strangers or people you know – they are counting on your social programming to get away with it,” Ng says. “Don’t fall for it.”

The key to being able to set and enforce your boundaries is to actually outline what they are early on. “Have open discussions on sensitive issues like consent, abusive relationships, peer pressure, substance abuse, and conflict resolution,” says Chow-Liu. Under WAB’s Social and Emotional Learning Program, for example, students have interactive lessons and guided discussion groups on these topics from as early as Grade 9.

“You don’t want to be confronted with these issues without some sense of where you stand,” says Ng. Know your boundaries, communicate assertively, and recognize someone who won’t respect a “no.”

8. Don’t overshare.

As a rule of thumb, avoid sharing your location – especially your home or regular haunts – on social media. “It’s okay to share some photos or posts online, but be careful about sharing your location,” says Ng.

And when conversing with unfamiliar people, be aware if someone is asking questions that reveal your routine or your personal information. “You don’t have to tell anyone anything that you don’t want to. In fact, you can lie or tell the person you’re talking to that you don’t feel comfortable sharing,” says Ng.

9. Be prepared.

Having a defensive tool on you is a good idea, but in case something happens, the most important thing is to have the willingness to fight and get away. In truth, anything can be a weapon, so use whatever you have on you or find around you – a bag, a book, a chair, a table – to defend yourself and buy yourself time and opportunity to escape.

10. Learn basic self-defense.

“Self-defense is a life skill, and everyone – regardless of age, gender, size, or shape – should invest in learning it,” says Ng.

Find a place that teaches practical street self-defense and covers situational awareness, rather than competition-style or performance-style combat or martial arts, Ng advises. “We obviously recommend Krav Maga, but if you can’t find Krav Maga, find a system that’s relatively easy to learn, direct in approach, employs simulation and stress training safely, and aims to be immediately usable. The idea is that if you need to use what you learned today tomorrow, you could.”

In the end, knowing self-defense makes you naturally more aware, and more able to prevent or avoid a bad situation in the first place. “The irony is,” says Ng, “the more you learn self-defense, the less likely you’ll need to use it.”

Krav Maga students learn how to use shield-type objects like a backpack when dealing with danger.

This article appeared in the jingkids 2022 Graduation issue

The day after she gave birth, Gemmicah Argonza got the call.

“Did you go to the 7-11 in the basement China World on April 28?” The voice on the line said, “A positive COVID case was found there.”

Her mind raced: Was she there on the 28th? Would she have to go to central quarantine? What about her husband? What would happen to her daughter? Would they take her too?

It’s the call no one wants to get, much less if they’ve literally just had a baby.

In a way, they were prepared for the worst.

A Philippine native, Argonza ran the only Filipino restaurant in the city, Mesa Madre, located in Jianwai Soho. Her husband, Clifford Weiner, was General Manager of Hotel Jen. Both of them were smack in the middle of the Central Business District – an area that would soon be swept up in the citywide COVID lockdown.

Before lockdown: Argonza enjoying Mesa Madre’s Halo-Halo, a Filipino desert

From mid-April, both Argonza and Weiner watched with trepidation as the cases in Beijing grew at a worrying pace, and communities in Panjiayuan, Shuangjing, and Jinsong – just a mile south of them – were closed off one after another.

“We had seen what happened in Shanghai, and we worried it would happen here,” Argonza recalls. News of quarantine shelter conditions, parents being separated from children, and lack of access to supplies were everywhere.

As she was due on April 28, they stocked up on a month’s worth of supplies. “I kept saying, ‘C’mon baby, come out already,’” Argonza recounts. “The last thing I wanted was to give birth in the middle of a lockdown.”

Argonza’s stock of baby supplies

The couple also decided to pack up and move into Hotel Jen. “Communities get locked down in the middle of the night without any warning, but as Hotel Jen’s General Manager, Cliff knew he would have some notice if the hotel was going to lockdown,” Argonza says. “So there could be a chance for us to make a decision to go to the hospital if that happened.”

Fortunately for the couple, it never came to that. On May 5, seven days after she was due, the contractions started. Argonza and Weiner rushed to the hospital, and, in the early hours of May 6, Allegra Weiner was born.

The day after giving birth, Argonza was discharged from the hospital. Things had gone smoothly, and Argonza felt good.

But as soon as the couple arrived home, the call from the CDC came.

“In the first phone call, it was almost as if they weren’t sure if I was at the 7-11,” she recalls. Six phone conversations later, the CDC finally confirmed that there was a payment linked to her at 2:45pm on April 28. The positive case was estimated to have visited the same 7-11 between 1-2pm that day. The timeframe was too close. This made Argonza a close contact – she and Weiner had to quarantine.

“I tried explaining that I’d taken COVID tests every day since the 28th, and that they were all negative” she says. “But it didn’t matter.”

At some point in the back and forth calls, Weiner told the CDC that Argonza had just given birth. “It seemed they didn’t expect this,” she recalls. A few hours later, a bit of good news came: they would only be required to do home quarantine.

Did her recent childbirth affect her quarantine requirements? “I don’t know, honestly,” Argonza says. “I was just really relieved to hear that.”

A CDC team came to install the alarm on their door, and set up a WeChat group that included the couple, a colleague who served as translator, and multiple people from what Argonza assumed was the CDC’s team. They were given instructions for deliveries, trash disposal, and doing both the CDC administered COVID tests as well as the COVID home-testing kits.

One of the challenges the couple faced was getting Allegra to her first two check-ups, which were within the first two weeks after birth.

Because Argonza’s health code was yellow, she had to navigate getting permission from both the hospital and their CDC handlers to make it happen.

“BJU knew what to do,” she says. “They would receive me not in pediatrics but in their fever clinic, and the doctor would be sent based on their internal protocols,” With the CDC, on the other hand, they had to negotiate the terms for traveling. “They finally agreed to have me take Allegra alone in a car, with a driver dressed in full PPE.”

“While it’s frustrating to be locked down, at least my husband is able to spend more time with our daughter,” Argonza muses. “It’s a good that’s come out of this whole situation, and I’m happy for it.”

Looking forward, the couple are most pained at how travel restrictions will prevent them from having Allegra meet their families. “I’m the eldest, so seeing my daughter would mean a lot to my parents,” Argonza says. “But we can’t do that for now.”

Asked if this might be an impetus for them to leave for good, as many expats have done, she responds, “When I’m frustrated in the moment, sometimes I do want to pack up and leave.”

“But at the same time, I love Beijing,” she says. “And my life, my business and my community are here. And I think Beijing is a good place for a child to grow up, especially in her early years. It’s a good place for our family to be.”

KEEP READING: What If I Go Into Labor During Lockdown?

Images: Courtesy of Gemmicah Argonza

Let’s be real: How many of us have a stationary bike or treadmill that’s now a glorified laundry hanger? Or a dusty set of bands and a sad pair of dumbbells stuffed behind the couch? Or a kettlebell that now props open the kitchen door?

Working out at home is touted as a great option for busy parents. The reality, however, is that most people who try it very quickly lose motivation and quit. Well, turns out that there are pretty major mistakes we all make with home workouts. And they have a lot to do with why we can’t stay on the proverbial treadmill long enough to get results.

We got the low down from Beijing fitness pros on the top six things we mess up, and what we should do instead to move the needle on our fitness.

1. Not having a specific goal.

A leaderboard at Warrior One. Putting numbers and targets give people goalposts to keep them on track. Image courtesy of Warrior One.

Most people say “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get fit.” But there’s nothing specific or measurable about these goals, and no timeline attached to them. “If you don’t define a goal, it’s impossible to measure the results of your workout,” says Suba Dangol, a 20-year veteran of the Beijing fitness industry. “Without concrete measures of progress, it’s very hard to stay motivated.”

Start with a short-term goal: Lose 1-2 pounds a week; Do 12 good pushups consecutively within six weeks; Run consistently for nne kilometer in a month; Work up to a 1-minute plank. Be specific and start small.

2. Not having a plan.

Wanna bench 90kgs in 4 months’ time like Phil here? You’ll need a solid plan. Image courtesy of Warrior One.

Just like you can’t learn a language by opening a bilingual dictionary and randomly memorizing words with no structure or plan, you can’t improve your fitness by doing a bunch of workouts without logical programming behind it. “If you ‘just exercise,’ you improve a bit in the beginning but stall out very quickly, which will cause you to quit,” says Wes de Kirby, a strength and conditioning specialist at Warrior One.

“There is a science to fitness,” de Kirby continued. “Weight loss is about consistently maintaining the math of calorie intake vs. calories burned. Novice strength gains are about incrementally increasing weight or reps. It’s all logical programming, and it’s as true for athletes and pros as it is for a middle-aged mom just starting to work out.” So instead of jumping on random high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, or doing a bit of this or that without knowing where it will go, have a simple but logical plan that moves you towards your specific goal.

3. Chasing pain instead of progress.

A screenshot of a NY Times article from 2014 breaks down the “No Pain, No Gain” adage in the fitness industry.

Many jump on crash diets and excessive exercise plans. Before long, they are fatigued, injured, and still without the results they want. So they end up quitting. “Part of the problem is people think ‘No Pain, No Gain,’ and they measure workouts by how they feel and not what they produce,” says de Kirby. “Popular workout culture, which glorifies soreness, tells people that they have to suffer greatly. This is simply not true.” When making a fitness plan and defining your goals, don’t measure the suffering you can inflict on yourself, says de Kirby. “Instead, measure the progress you are able to make.”

4. Doing workouts they hate.

Training online is much easier now.

Over the last decade or so, online training options got a lot more diverse.
If you hate traditional workouts, try something fun instead. Dance fitness and combat cardio have been around for as long as Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, and Billy Blanks have graced our TV screens. And now there are many more options that focus on learning skills while still getting you to improve your fitness. A quick search on YouTube results in self-training for Muay Thai, boxing, jiujitsu, salsa, jazz, African dance, and so much more. Explore what piques your interest and get started. As a bonus, skill-based training typically has built-in goals and progression, which help keep you motivated.

5. Not scheduling or holding yourself accountable.

Schedule your workouts for more accountability. @ColleenWait via Twenty20

Put workouts in your calendar just like you would meetings. Set a time that won’t be interrupted by a) family, b) work, c) household chores, or d) your social life. It might be one weekday and one weekend. Or, if you’re a morning person, 20 minutes at the start of the day. If you work from home or have space in your office, pencil in during lunchtime. Also, get an accountability partner: your spouse, your friend, or even a support group online. If you’ve got to answer to someone else, you’re more likely to stay on track than if it’s just to yourself.

Oh well, I guess this means I can’t work out. @starryskyes0204 via Twenty20

6. Thinking they have to DIY it.

Alena, one of De Kirby’s trainees, works with him in person twice a week and once a week on her own at her school’s gym. Image courtesy of Warrior One.

Home workouts don’t have to be DIY. You can work with a coach in person once or twice a week (at the gym or at your home), and do home workouts the rest of the time. This helps on multiple fronts: if you have a specific goal, a coach will know how to make tailored programming for it and keep you accountable along the way. Coaches also help you troubleshoot and avoid serious injury. “People often don’t realize when they’re doing something wrong,” says Dangol. “They sometimes follow online programs without first considering if it’s actually suitable for them. If you’ve never worked out a day in your life and start doing 100 burpees because that’s what you saw on TikTok, you will likely end up damaging your joints.” Work with a private trainer (PT) who can program home workouts. Alternatively, join short-term group training sessions run online by reputable coaches. Either way, these can kickstart your training with less fuss and less time wasted on the “YouTube research” rabbit hole.

So with this in mind, give home workouts another go, and we’ll see you when you get to your goals.

A phone and mat may be all you need to challenge yourself. @sashapritchard via Twenty20

Here’s a super simple and sensible DIY home workout to get you started, courtesy of de Kirby!

-Set a timer for anywhere from 2-10 minutes. If you’re new, set it at two minutes.
-Pick 3-5 bodyweight exercises that you will do (push ups, air squat, lunges, jumping jacks, burpees, glute bridges, lying leg raises, YTW, McGill Big Three, etc.)
-Your goal will be to do as many reps of these exercises in the time you set.
-Rest about three minutes between each exercise.
-To progress, you can either increase the time for each exercise, or complete more reps within the original time frame.

KEEP READING: With E-Learning Comes E-xercise! Online Workouts To Stay In Shape

Images: Yonina Chan, various