Self Defense as Mental Health: A Workshop/Skillshare

A Girl Army/Offensive Feminist/Bread and Roses Mental Health Collaboration!

This event is FREE and open to the public!

Childcare will be provided!

2-4PM @ The Holdout

Wear comfortable clothes that you can move around in. Bring water to stay hydrated. This will be a low-impact event (no face-punching, but we can direct you to places where you will learn that kind of thing), we just want everyone to be comfy.

This space is open to anyone regardless of gender identity.

We will cover:
- the intersection of self-defense and mental well-being
- verbal/psychological tools for creating space
- setting boundaries
- simple and accessible techniques for getting out of wrist grabs and other confrontations
- breathing and grounding exercises

Certain topics and activities during the workshop may be triggering for those with experiences of physical and emotional violence. Please be aware and bring someone for support of you can. We will also have people experienced in trauma support available. There are activities that will require partners, so feel free to bring a friend you trust!

Mutual Agreement: Everyone who is participating agrees to make the workshop a safer space for everyone involved. Please understand that each person will react differently to the content of the workshop. Do not give feedback unless it's requested by your activity partner(s). Don't be racist, cissexist, classist, ableist, or queerphobic, and don't be an asshole in general.

Girl Army is a self-defense collective that began in 1994 through Suigetsukan Dojo. We are a community based collective, run entirely on volunteer work and some student contributions.

Offensive Feminist is a weekly collaborative self-defense and fitness workshop held on Sundays at The Holdout.

Bread & Roses Mental Health is an anti-capitalist collective focused on finding the intersections of mental/emotional/wellness issues and other political struggles.