Introduction: I believe I stand out from others in my industry because (1) I am a woman with a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. There are less than 100 in the United States. I have trained in several types of Martial Arts, not just BJJ. I have over 16 years of training.
(2) I am married to a Police Officer and have extensive knowledge about what is going on in the streets
(3) I grew up in the city and have lived all over (good and bad neighborhoods).
(4) I also sought out different martial arts and self defense programs so I could provide my clients and women with the techniques I think work best. Even though my program is not martial art based, it has some similarities in movements from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which is the most effective Martial Art around because its focus is on grappling (ground work) and 98% of fights and attacks lead to the ground. For a woman this is very important. I have taken movements I found to be easy to learn and combined with natural reactions in the way we would respond to a real situation
(5) My program allows women to practice live on an attacker allowing them to feel and experience the closest thing as fighting back in a safe environment. Also this allows the women to see how natural it is to implement the new techniques they just learned. Everyone woman who has done this has remembered the basics of what to do in a situation. Also, this gives the woman a chance to really use the techniques they just learn instead of just practicing and imagining and simulating a movement and technique
(6) being a woman myself and knowing the importance of a program such as mine.
(7) I am was a victim and a survivor. I know the hardships and psychological damage being a victim can do to a person and leave them scarred for life. By taking a self defense course you can save yourself months, years and a lifetime of dealing with the after effects of being a victim. I am trying to save women the heart ache of this experience. Being a victim will affect you the rest of your life. You may not realize that you make decision based on this experience, but you will. Trust issues, depression, relationship issues, social issues, friendship issues, family issues, self issues. It's not a fun ride and my experience was not even half as bad as some women I have met over the years who were also victimized by sexual assault. Example, I get accused for being mean and unfeeling at times. I get accused of being cold and emotionless. It took me years to realize why I was this way because I don't remember always being that way, but it because my defense mechanism to dealing with the issue, with the way people responded to the situation, and many other things all as a result from this one night, one moment in time when I was 18. But thankfully I have fought through and am reaching out to help other women now. You can learn from my experience.
