Teaching Women’s Self Defense at KTLA

t’s Women’s History Month and I wanted to contribute something in the best way I could . . . so the day after International Women’s Day, I did a segment on KTLA TV about women’s self-defense. It’s always been Trifecta’s mission to empower women through our classes and community/social outreach. For example, a lot of women have found that learning boxing has made them way more confident in all aspects of their lives—that’s pretty profound. We never started out with that goal, but it’s definitely been a common pattern among our clients and class attendees and we’re obviously very happy about that.

I’ve always felt that self-defense classes were important for women to take at least once. It’s good to know what advantages women have and how women can use that to work in their favor. It’s also useful to know what physical moves you can do if, God forbid, a woman ever needs to defend herself. But what’s also important is that knowledge is power. I’ve had a lot of women tell me that they’ve become more comfortable when they’re walking alone at night (because sometimes, they have no other choice). I never hope that anyone has to use the self-defense that I’ve taught them, but I do feel better if I can at least prepare someone for that type of scenario if needed. Sometimes, that’s what makes the difference between getting panicked and remaining calm.

Having the opportunity to teach a few things about self-defense on TV was definitely an experience for me. I had the chance to talk about something that could be significant for people who saw the segment. And I learned something as well. I’m not really much of a public speaker (yet), but despite my nervousness during the segment, I learned to speak up because I feel strongly about helping others. I’ve been in a lot of tough situations in my life, and I’m grateful that I was able to share some of the knowledge that I’ve picked up along the way that can really help other people. I was really anxious going into this thing, but it’s been a really fulfilling experience having the segment reach and help more people.

Since Women’s History Month is far from over, we’re still planning a few things. Trifecta will be hosting an event called Empowering Women Through Self-Defense, hosted by Sports Illustrated model Veronica Pome’e. If anyone knows anything about female empowerment, it’s her. I’ll also be doing another women’s self-defense segment on Good Morning DC on March 18, so look out for that! Get involved and make a difference.