Students from Tianjin City are taking body protection training at school. The training that incorporates wrestling and combat is now on the student's curriculum. The one-to-one exercise is aimed at giving students skills in self-protection.

Statistics from Tianjin's courts show that there were over 30 cases in the last two years where young female students were injured. Also, some accidents have occurred due to limited or no knowledge of highway codes, fire-protection and self-defense training or common-sense in traveling. Hongqiao District in particular began the training in the hope of preventing unnecessary accidents, attack or damage.

To ensure students learn these contingency skills, professionals from relevant departments have been requested to test their students. For instance, PE lessons now test running and fleeing abilities by placing obstacles across the playground. What's more, students have been organized on fieldtrips to fire departments and hospitals.

Education circles have said that the fact that accidents happen to students shows that a new survival training course is badly needed. Even though studying is important, students must now know more than their academic subjects to be well qualified. Nowadays many students often lack basic living ability and safety skills. In fact, skills for calmly handling emergencies and surviving difficult conditions are absolutely necessary.

(China.org.cn by Wang Ruyue and Daragh Moller, November 19, 2003)