Compassionate self defence that works.

If you’re thinking of learning self-defence but haven’t found a space that feels right just yet, we might just be that space…

You’ll learn techniques to defend yourself, assert your needs, uphold your boundaries, and move through life with confidence - we’re here for you.

We coach in Empowerment Self Defence, a holistic approach to personal safety that addresses the spectrum of violence, from verbal microaggression to unwanted contact, to physical assault.

If you’re interested in tapping into your power, we’ve got you covered too. Our workshops invite you to feel and channel your strength through movement. They also offer opportunities to reflect and integrate what you’re learning.

If you’re living with the effects of trauma from violence, and would like to learn in a trauma-informed setting, we’re hear for you. Our instructor team is trained to work with trauma in the body and in designing programmes that meet you where you are.

We see you as the authority on what’s right for your body. We don’t do commands or instructions, we offer invitations and options.

The course is open to women, people living in women’s bodies and who identify as women.

If you’d like to talk more about whether this programme is right for you, reach out.

Your instructor in 2025 / 2026 is Maya D'Amour.

Maya’s style is thoughtful, creative, and collaborative and her workshops are full of respect, compassion, choice, and empowerment.

She believes that safety starts with recognising that you deserve to be safe. You’ll practice identifying your boundaries, verbal and physical skills to uphold them, and saying what you need.

They’re a mix of movement, games, reflection, options to discharge energy, and options to ground and regulate your nervous system.

Exercises integrate a range of physical and verbal boundary setting techniques, focussing on the specific safety challenges that women face.

You’ll come away with a few fast and furious power moves to defuse a situation, and create space for yourself to think and act.

Crucially, they put you at the centre of your own experience, offering you plenty of options and invite you to choose what feels right.

Great question and important to ask.

• For starters, we acknowledge that trauma affects individuals, groups and communities

• We ask practitioners about their known triggers and support systems so that we can incorporate accommodations and supports into the design of our activities and group agreement

• The first thing we practise, before stances, strikes or releases, is saying 'no' to activities that don't feel right to us. We invite participants to practice saying no in sessions and celebrate when they do

• We consider participants to be the authorities on their own experience. The activities we do are invitations not instructions. We invite participants to choose —from a range of variations, to take a pause, practise a grounding technique, or to simply say ‘no.’

• We practise nervous system regulation techniques, and invite participants to choose ones that work well for them

• We practise interoception and making choices in line with our instincts, energy levels, and body cues