Women's Self-Defense

Free Women's Self-Defense Program

We have been running our free women’s self-defense program since 2010, without grants/external funding etc. Since then, we have trained tens of thousands of women in self-protection/personal safety and self-defense, including how to use OC/Pepper spray effectively in different contexts. Our program is based on a blended learning approach where the personal safety information is presented online, whilst the physical self-defense aspect of our training is conducted in-person at our studio located just north of Somerville, Massachusetts.

Our women’s self-defense program focuses on three areas of personal safety that particularly effects women: rape and sexual assault, intimate partner violence and abuse, and stalking. Whilst men can also be victimized in these ways, these types of offenses are statistically more likely to be committed against women. Our program is preventative in nature and looks at the methods and processes that offenders use to gain access to those they victimize and how these can be predicted and prevented. Using academic research, official statistics, and proven methods our program takes an evidential approach to preventing violence. Rather than being based on soundbites and well-intentioned advice and a few people’s experiences our program is fact-based.

As well as teaching unarmed self-defense to women we also teach the correct use of OC/Peper spray, which is legal to buy and carry in Massachusetts (though it can’t be sent through the mail/post). Whilst such units are relatively simple to use and deploy there are several things that can be done both practically and tactically to make them more effective. Our physical classes make use of inert sprays so both of these things can be practiced in a dynamic setting with instructors acting as aggressors/attackers. Those attending are also introduced to the different types of delivery systems that these sprays use and the contexts within which they work best.

It is important to note that these classes are preventative in nature e.g., our information and classes that deal with intimate partner violence (IPV), are about learning how to identify, in the early stages of a relationship, if an individual is displaying any of the warning signs that suggest they have an abusive personality as opposed to how to end and extricate oneself from an existing abusive relationship. This means that our classes may not be suitable for somebody who is still working through the psychological and emotional trauma of an incident they’ve experienced. If you are interested in attending one of our classes and working through the accompanying online component, please use the button below.

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