Women and Femme
Self Defense Intensive
We believe in communities of strong women and femmes who fight, sweat, grapple, and topple the patriarchy - all before taking a water break.
Learn the fundamentals of self defense in this woman-led, intensive, and trauma-informed workshop series. Our goal is to make you feel confident, secure, and powerful in your body - without the bullshit. Participants can expect to learn basic fighting stance, movement, striking, ground work, wrestling, deescalation, verbal advocacy, and solutions to self defense scenarios commonly used on women such as front chokes.
These seminars cater to all levels of fitness and experience. Beginners are welcome and encouraged. More advanced practitioners can expect a great workout while honing their skills. The course is designed to challenge your physical and technical abilities at any level.
The series consists of 5, 2 hour workshops. The cost for the intensive is $175.
Schedule
Seminars are held at N-Flux at 1722 I St NW, Lower Level
Friday, 6:30-7:30pm: Welcome Party and Introductions
Saturday, 8am-10am: Striking
Saturday, 11:30pm-1:30pm: Ground Work
Saturday, 2-4pm: Verbal Advocacy and Deescalation
Sunday 9am-11am: Wrestling
Sunday 11:30pm-1:30pm: Self Defense Scenarios
Dates are below!
Sign up for the Women and Femme Self Defense Series!
About the Instructor
Colleen Daly is the founder of Guerrera, a feminist fight club dedicated to helping women and femmes feel more confident, safe, and powerful in their bodies.
Colleen trains and competes in boxing, kickboxing, and jiu jitsu. She is a black belt in Fit to Fight Defensive Options and a brown belt in 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. She is the 2019 Finishers Open Champion at the Expert Level, the 2019 ONNIT Open Champion at the Expert level, and the 2019 WKA Kickboxing Nationals 2nd place athlete and Worlds qualifier.
Colleen takes a functionally focused, body positive approach to training. She emphasizes what your body is capable of, rather than what it looks like. She is a published author in the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology on research she conducted with the Northwestern University Body and Media Lab on how fitness professionals influence the body satisfaction of their participants.
Women’s Self Defense Testimonials
We are proud to be rated the top Women’s Self Defense program in DC by Yelp.
“The six-week course was surprising in the best way possible. Honestly, I went from feeling really powerless in my body to really feeling like I'd built muscle memory that was the start of saving myself in case of attack. Colleen is a superstar. During the times of COVID, she managed to still teach us how to really punch and kick powerfully in case we are approached. I also felt safe and respected while I was empowering myself through this training. I felt like the course really knocked away some of the false concepts I had from other self-defense trainings and helped me to address much of my concerns, even though it was delivered virtually. I'm hooked!”
“It is an amazing experience! Colleen is the best instructor ever! Everyone should do it! This class pushed me so much more than any class I've taken. I feel confident that I am able to defend myself if something were to happen. I thought I was fit but after taking this class, I can see where I need to work on to improve my arm and leg strength especially for flurry punches and getting up from the ground. I would do this class again in a heartbeat! I love practicing the drills on non-class days!”
"Two years ago, I tried out a Krav Maga class through a free trial. I left the one-time course feeling extremely insecure and not confident at all. I enjoyed it, but I was also scared and felt out of my element throughout the class.
Two years later, I would learn about the scholarships that N-Flux was offering for Women and Femmes and decided to try again. I have never felt so strong, or so in community at a gym before -- even with it being online. I tend to fly solo when it comes to fitness and I've always been incredibly intimidated by group environments.But the community that Colleen fostered was one of support, encouragement, and existed without shame.
We were encouraged to be vulnerable, to try our hardest, and even had some laughs along the way. Some Saturdays, I would be exhausted and tired at the start of the class, but no matter what, I always left feeling powerful, strong, and SORE. These past six weeks were always an incredible way to start my weekend. I always felt ready to take on whatever was next.
Thanks to this course, I have a lot more confidence in knowing what I could do if a situation were to ever happen. I cannot hear nearly as well as most able-bodied people do, so having these tools has been really crucial and helpful for me. I'm also so grateful that Colleen and N-Flux have introduced me to a new physical outlet to channel my stress, frustration, and anxiety with, while also leaves me feeling strong and powerful afterwards. This has truly done wonders for my mental health.
I'm still so grateful that Colleen recognizes the urgent need for these resources to be put into the hands of those who may not have direct access to it. That's a powerful form of activism and feminism that can be hard to come by in the fitness world. So major kudos and thank you to Colleen and N-Flux for providing this resource and scholarships!"
"Colleen is an amazing instructor. She affirms each of us even in moments of correction! I feel safer knowing I was taught by her."
"The Guerrera Self Defense Series was accessible to people at all fitness levels and offered a safe, open, and fun environment to learn basic skills necessary for self defense. I know these types of classes can be uncomfortable to many femmes for various reasons, but they are crucial protection for a group that is often the target of violence. Colleen is a phenomenal instructor and she does an excellent job of making everyone feel welcome and engaged. She incorporates encouragement into her feedback, and you can really feel her excitement when students have that "aha" moment and everything clicks. She has a great sense of humor, but also keeps it real and makes sure we stay on track. At the end of the series, you won't be like Bruce Lee (unfortunately), but you will leave with renewed confidence in your ability to defend yourself and the determination to keep practicing, keep fighting, and keep improving day by day."
"Colleen is an exceptional teacher. I've had many martial arts teachers and I can say without a doubt that Colleen is the most in depth and personable teacher I've encountered. She takes the time to break things down step by step so that everyone is on the same page. She's also attentive to everyone's needs and understands that some moves might be triggering and allows space for people to step back and take the time they need.
Colleen really doesn't play around when it comes to your safety and protection and makes it clear that everything you learn can be applied to real life situations. I would 300% recommend this program and Colleen to anyone but especially women and femmes of all walks of life."
"The six-week course was surprising in the best way possible. Honestly, I went from feeling really powerless in my body to really feeling like I'd built muscle memory that was the start of saving myself in case of attack. Colleen is a superstar. During the times of COVID, she managed to still teach us how to really punch and kick powerfully in case we are approached. I also felt safe and respected while I was empowering myself through this training. I felt like the course really knocked away some of the false concepts I had from other self-defense trainings and helped me to address much of my concerns, even though it was delivered virtually. I'm hooked!"
Scholarship Program
Guerrera seeks to involve women and femmes who need training most - those with identities that put them at higher risk for experiencing violence - survivors of sexual violence, people of color, members of the LGBT community, among others. We also understand it shouldn't be the economic burden of those at greatest risk to pay for training. This application is for such individuals to access training free of charge.
If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please email Colleen at cdaly@staynflux.com or fill out the contact form below.