Saiya

Phagoora
Mr. Koshman, block A

Capstone Project Proposal

Introduction
For my capstone project, I plan on organizing and hosting a free self defense seminar at Lord
Tweedsmuir. The Department of Justice stated that 20% of women in the United States will be
victims of sexual assault in their lifetimes. A large portion of these attacks could have been easy
to stop from escalating had the victims known self defense. In todays world, knowing self
defense is priceless, as it can save your life. Knowing any form of martial arts can give an
individual an advantage over their attacker, but krav maga is currently the most effective form of
self defense. Krav maga was developed by the Israeli forces for their military and is now taught
to police officers, security guards, and federal agents. Krav maga requires no prior martial arts
experiences to excel at because it is developed for all people of any age, weight, height, gender,
etc. Its purely street fighting and its philosophy is to quickly neutralize any threat by quick
reaction and constant striking until they are no longer one. I am very interested in martial arts
its my biggest passion. I have been training in taekwondo for seven years and am a third degree
black belt and I have also trained in krav maga for two years. Additionally I am a certified
instructor, so teaching people self defense and how to stay safe is very important to me and I
would like to give others the opportunity to learn. Knowing how to defend yourself gives you a
sense of confidence and is a lifesaving skill; therefore I believe hosting a seminar at the school
would be beneficial for many. I am curious as to how much goes into organizing and planning an
event such as this one, so I will also come away with more knowledge about running a personal
project and the best ways to go about advertising that I can use in my future career. Below are
the details and the objectives I plan to accomplish with my seminar.

Objectives/planning
I am very passionate about teaching martial arts and for my capstone project I plan on hosting
a self defense seminar at the school for some of the students. In order to make this happen I will
have to meet with the school counsellors and staff and organize the event with them. We will set
a date together and try to come up with the best time and ways to advertise it. Advertising and
getting the word out will be one of the most key parts to having enough people to really make the
seminar successful. Meeting with the Eye of the Panther crew could be a possibility, as well as
going class to class to talk to some of the students about the benefits of knowing self defense and
attending. In order to effectively and confidently teach I will meet with one of my taekwondo
instructors, 6th degree black belt Master Karen Bennett who is also a certified krav maga
instructor. Together, we will make a class plan and decide which defenses and skills I will teach
at the seminar. I will be teaching the self defenses that we learn in krav maga and the seminar
will most likely be held in the gym so scheduling around the PE teachers and after school teams
will also be a part of the planning process. I would like to document some of the seminar on
video for my final research so I will also have to find somebody willing and able to film. The
plan is to host the seminar in between November 1st and 16th so I will have plenty of time after to
finish the final paper and presentation.
Saiya Phagoora
Mr. Koshman, block A

Aftermath
My goal is for everyone who attends the seminar to come away with more confidence in their
abilities to defend themselves and possibly consider taking self defense classes to solidify what
they know. I will interview some individuals after the event to get their perspective and thoughts
on the seminar and if they felt it was beneficial. I am very passionate about teaching and training
and I would like to educate students on why it is important to be able to defend themselves. This
project will also expand my knowledge of teaching as it is outside of the academy I train and
teach at and it is the first time I will be planning an event of my own. In todays world you
cannot be too careful as crime rate is at an all-time high and staying safe should be one of
everyones top priorities. This seminar will make me a better teacher as well as give others the
chance to gain more self-confidence and knowledge about how to stay safe.

Timeline
Date Objective
September 14 Finish Proposal

September 15 Upload proposal and start research/planning

September 18 Talk to my taekwondo instructors & set meeting date

September 21 Come up with a teaching plan for the seminar

September 23 Come up with Questions to ask Mrs. Bennett

September 27 Halfway completed research benchmark and talk to VP

October 2 Look for appointment dates with counsellor

October 6 All research completed benchmark

October 14-31 Plan, organize, work with counsellors and advertise

October 17 Organize video crew for seminar

November 1-16 Host seminar and interview some who took it

November 16-January 1 Finish final paper and start presentation preparation

January 6-8 Present my Capstone project