What better way to kick off the new year that learning to throw that kick effectively? If you’re interested in self-defense, or even just interested in keeping fit, there is one gym in Brooklyn that is offering it’s female clientele free self defense classes.
In an environment where the news media seems to be full of violence against women, Class One Mixed Martial Arts in Brooklyn is dedicating the first and last Sunday of every month (at 3:30pm) to empowering women by training them in self defense.
All the sessions are free and any donations to the class go to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.
The classes primarily focused on helping women escape their would-be attackers, helping them feel safe and empowered through this uncertain political environment, and above all give them hope. Here is an excerpt from the facebook event page for this Sunday’s class:
Women and other targets for Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric now have to deal with the fact that this person–who has demonstrated an incredible disregard for their rights–has a position of power over them and a hand in the system that will shape our legislature for years to come.
But it wasn’t fear that was felt in the streets of Washington D.C. or any of the countless solidarity marches that went down over the weekend–it was hope.
Hope that together we can overcome the hate and oppression that has become normalized and accepted by an alarmingly large number of U.S. citizens.
It was this feeling of hope that inspired me and my martial arts instructor Ken Ng to join this growing movement of positivity by offering cost-by-donation self defense classes to arm and empower women in their fight for equality.
Featured image source [facebook]