WomenStrength - Portland Police Bureau
Veteran Instructor
Introductory Self-Defense Classes
2011 - 2016
Awards
President's Volunteer Service Award - 2013
Honored Volunteer Award - 2012
About
WomenStrength self-defense classes are designed to introduce teenage and adult women to a variety of strategies, including some survival level fighting skills, designed to help defend against sexual assault. The Portland Police Bureau believes that fighting can be an effective response to the threat of sexual assault.
Class activities and discussion are designed to help women identify their risks and evaluate their strengths, and to explore their options for dealing with the threat of sexual violence. Class activities focus on practicing verbal and physical strategies. Discussion topics focus on sexual and domestic violence.
WomenStrength emphasizes that each threat must be assessed quickly. Research on women's experiences indicates that the likelihood of escaping a sexual assault increases with the number of escape strategies employed. Women who choose to fight are encouraged to use the element of surprise to their advantage. Because physical self-defense will be most effective if vulnerable areas of the body are targeted, some of the skills taught include multiple strikes to those areas, as well as escapes from choke holds, body grabs, and wrist grasps, and defense techniques from the ground. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/article/61827