10 | SOPHOMORES
Mikayla ashe
Part-timE ninja, full-timE leader In a day and age where society faces many safety challenges, there is an evident urgency to learn how to protect oneself. According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), as of 2018, one in six women are victims of sexual assault in their lifetime, totaling 17.7 million American female victims in the last 20 years. Sophomore Mikayla Ashe, a martial artist, combats this emergency with her own women’s selfdefense program, training women across age groups since the seventh grade. “In this stained age, violence is a common scene. You should know how to defend yourself because the chances of getting into that situation right now is extremely high,” Mikayla said. Wanting to defuse the situation, Mikayla’s program ensures the teaching of vital defense tactics. With this, girls may use their newlylearned tactics to escape danger. “They are educating themselves, and they know that this is a more serious, real issue than they thought, and they know they are capable of protecting themselves properly,” Mikayla said. “I don’t think I know any girls who have had to use it, but in the future if they did, and they benefitted from my program, I’d consider that a win.” Taekwondo, a martial art that Mikayla first practiced at six years old, also connects Mikayla’s family. Since the rest of her family are all highly ranked in the sport, Mikayla felt compelled to keep the tradition going. “When I was little, most of my family did it: they all did Taekwondo. I was doing ballet at the time, and I
really didn’t have any interest in it, so I was like, ‘Okay, I really want to be a ninja,’ so I joined Taekwondo, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Mikayla said. A home that supports her endeavors ensures Mikayla’s success and prosperity in the responsibilities she has in Taekwondo and her educational career thus far. “Healthy body, healthy mind: our family follows that simple, but important principle,” Mikayla’s father, Lawrence Ashe, said. “We are all crossfitters and we’ve all practiced martial arts. We’ve always encouraged Mikayla to participate, but she’s clearly taken it to a whole new level through sheer determination and perseverance.” Apart from a natural talent for Taekwondo, Mikayla demonstrated her devotion from a young age, practicing multiple hours a week. Even with the highly-regarded Taekwondo belt testing, Mikayla was able to excel regardless of the difference in age, and eventually earned a black belt at 10 years old. “On ‘Instagram,’ there are videos of me in a younger version breaking boards, doing forms, self defense, kicking combinations and my belt testing... And I also had Youth Empowerment videos that I demonstrated tutorials on how to do certain skills,” Mikayla said. Given Mikayla’s early achievements, her “Instagram” videos attracted girls interested in learning these skills to come and talk to her. “A lot of girls are getting assaulted. I’m trying to teach them self-defense tactics to try and avoid the situation or make it less catastrophic,” Mikayla said.
