Get a class customized just for you!

Group of women smiling at the camera after a Defend Yourself workshop.

Thanks for reaching out to Defend Yourself! We have no public classes right now – we’re on pause with these for a bit.  

There are two things you can do (and you can do one or both!)

#1 Sign up for our newsletter

When you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll be the first one to hear when registration opens for the next classes. (Our newsletters are infrequent, and we don’t share your info with others, so your inbox isn’t in peril!)

#2 Custom Workshops

If you’d like to gather a group of any kind (co-workers, neighbors, sports team, Girl Scouts, friends and family, or any other group), we’ll customize a workshop just for you, whether in person or online. Please fill out this form telling us what you’re looking for, and we’ll get back to you quickly with more information.

Before you fill out the form, take a look at the kinds of workshops we offer so you can tell us more about what you’re looking for.

If you have any other questions, feel free to write to classes@defendyourself.org. We’d love to hear from you!

A teacher demonstrating at a workshop

Increase personal safety with Empowerment Self-Defense

If you’d like your members to be ready to respond with confidence if they ever face an uncomfortable or unsafe situation, our Empowerment Self-Defense workshops are the answer.

Participants learn skills to protect themselves in the face of harassment, abuse, and assault. They’ll learn both verbal and physical strategies to prevent and interrupt violence before it escalates. We practice these skills in everyday scenarios such as on the street and at work, school, or home. 

Participants leave with confidence and a variety of techniques they can use right away.

A woman seen from behind, holding her hands in front of her to indicate "stop"

Learn to stand up for others and interrupt hate with active bystander skills

When witnessing hate — everything from harassment and other microaggressions to a full-on attack — most people want to do the right thing. Often they don’t know how to respond. With skills and practice, everyone can help create safer and more respectful groups and communities. 

In this program, participants learn how to tell if someone is being harassed, how to bring the temperature down, and options for intervening safely. 

Your group members will leave with a deeper understanding of when and how to be an active bystander, along with a variety of techniques they can use in the moment.

A teacher demonstrating at a workshop

Gain skills for bringing the temperature down with a de-escalation workshop

For workplaces and community-service groups, Defend Yourself offers training in de-escalation skills. 

Those who deal with the public have seen an increase in the number of problematic customers/clients/patients during the pandemic. 

De-escalation training equips participants with skills for dealing with people who are angry, escalated, refuse to wear a mask, unpredictable, or otherwise creating problems for public-facing staff or volunteers. 

In this program, participants learn:

  • when to choose to de-escalate, 
  • 5 steps to effectively de-escalate, 
  • the assertive alternative, 
  • working with the fight-flight-freeze response, 
  • organizational strategies, 
  • and more. 
Fill out the form requesting a custom workshop!