Learn self-defense basics in one afternoon!
Intro to self defense
for LGBTQI people
- Sat., June 27, 11 am - 2 pm, downtown DC (near Mt. Vernon Sq. and Convention Center)
Get ready for college (HS seniors and first-year college students)
- Sat., August 1, 1 pm - 4 pm, Bethesda near Cedar Lane
Coming up
- Middle school self defense, a Saturday in September
- Guns, knives and more for those who have taken some self defense, a Saturday in October
- Intro to self defense for women and girls 16+, a Sunday in November
Check out details on these classes and more here»
For more info or to register, contact 301-608-3708 or lauren@defendyourself.org. You can now pay for classes with PayPal.
Everyone can do this!
Many people believe that to protect themselves against everyday dangers they have to learn a martial art--they have to learn Michelle Yeoh’s or Jackie Chan’s moves. This isn’t true.
While many martial arts did evolve as self-defense systems, they suited the needs of a people in a specific time and place (such as sword-fighting on horseback in 17th century Korea). They don’t translate well to practical, modern-day needs.
You’re not, for example, going to do a flying kick to a potential date rapist, workplace harasser, or child abuser.
Instead, you can use self-defense techniques for the real dangers women and girls face in our society today, such as harassment, abuse, and sexual assault.
Find out more about the strengths of self defense and of martial arts here, so you can make the choice that's right for you!
Defend Yourself students show what they've got
The black high heel Vanessa Schutz is holding suddenly looks pretty menacing.
"Temple! Throat!" she shouts, aiming at the air.
"Good! What are some other things we have in the office that you could use if you had to?" instructor Lauren Taylor asks the circle of 11 women on a recent Monday night in Chinatown.
Reporter Shauna Miller and photographer Martin Locraft visited a class. Check out what they saw on Dcist
NO, in any language
Imagine 200-plus girls (and a few parents and boys) shouting "NO!" That was the scene at Community Bridges' conference on sexual harassment. Poetess 2Deep wrote and performed this moving and spirited poem for the the event:
"And I tell you now
YOU DID NOTHING WRONG Keep yelling no
Don’t give in
Speak up
Scream NO
Run as fast as you can
Become Wonder No Woman and Super No Man
With your self respect cape flapping in the wind behind you As you are able to leap over unwanted advances in a single No bound
With your answer to everything including your name being No Make a game out of it
Practice it in the morning
No, non, no, nein, no
No, no, no, no
Y sé es difícil..."
Check out the whole poem, and more on 2Deep, the Poetess.
Why self-defense?
Whether or not you live in a high-crime area, attack is unfortunately a possibility. For women especially, most assaults don't come from strangers in parking lots-they come from friends, acquaintances, romantic partners, or family members. more»
What is self-defense?
Many people think of self-defense as what they would do if someone jumped them in a parking lot or dark alley.
We do teach ways to fight off an attacker. But self-defense is much more than that! It is a set of skills--verbal, emotional, mental, and physical--that you can use to keep yourself safe, claim your space, set limits, say no, heal from past abuse or attacks, and live the life you want to live. (See "Have you ever had to use it?") more»
