What is Empowerment-based Self-Defense?
To us, self-defense means anything you do or say that helps you feel and be safer, stronger, and more self-confident. Our Empowerment-based Self-defense classes include physical skills and interpersonal skills that help people notice warning signs and prevent (when possible) and defend (if necessary) themselves from both physical and emotional violence. Our trainings are organized around the three pillars of body, voice, and mind. “Body” includes body language & posture as well as physical resistance techniques (‘fighting back’). “Voice” includes using our communication skills to assert our needs, get help, calm down a volatile situation, and tell our stories. It also means noticing when other people are communicating to us that they may harm us. “Mind” includes information about the realities of violence, mental strategies to enhance our safety, and meditation strategies to find peace and foster resilience. We work with our participants to help them create cultures of safety, strength, and mutual respect in their schools, workplaces, and communities. Our classes are trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and neurodivergent-friendly. Read more about our group empowerment self-defense classes !
Upcoming Empowerment & Self-Defense Workshops
Below are the Empowerment Self-Defense classes schedule for the first 
half of 2024. Register for any of these workshops using the form below. All workshops take place on Saturdays from 4:30 – 6:30 PM
- April 13th: Empowerment & Self-Defense for Adults
- May 18th: Empowerment & Self-Defense for Women & Teen Girls
- August 10th: Teen Empowerment & Safety Skills
- Sept 14: Back to School Safety for Kids (age 7-10)
- November 9th: Bystander Intervention & De-Escalation for Adults
Schedule a Semi-Private Self-Defense Class
If you’d like to take a class or workshop on your schedule and have a few friends (total of 4 people) to take it with you, contact us about creating a semi-private training. “Semi-private” means that we’ll work with you to schedule it at your convenience and find pricing that works for you and your friends (part of our commitment to equity), but also open it up to the public and market it along with you.