We are an organization of women and men working together to end the cycle of violence. We exist because one in three women will be assaulted in her lifetime. For our grads that drops to one in thirty and that one reports back to us on successfully defending herself.

We are the Southern California chapter of International Impact Self-Defense and we’ve been around since 1985 training thousands of women, men and children in simple, effective self-defense and boundary-setting techniques that anyone can do regardless of size, strength, or age. Our students’ confidence and adrenaline management skills on the mat seep into all areas of their lives enabling them to do better on tests, handle stressful meetings, successfully manage family dramas, and myriad other life events where grace under pressure comes in handy.

IMPACT Personal Safety:
• uses layered learning and adrenaline state training
• is scenario-based, full-force training
• is team-taught and female-led
• allows students to experience the full potential of their bodies through full-contact fighting
• is the only company teaching every assault scenario including bed pins
• is its own system of self-defense uniquely developed in response to violence against women
• is not a martial art
• teaches widely applicable life skills, communication, awareness, risk assessment, and risk reduction
• creates a supportive atmosphere where students cheer each other on during their fights rather than the isolation of a one-on-one fight experienced with most martial arts
• is designed based on a woman’s unique anatomy and the way they are assaulted
• empowers women, children, and men to push their personal limits and challenge societal beliefs
• has a staff of experts with years of self-defense training

We’ve combined four decades of expertise of diverse martial artists, FBI and police research on survivors and perpetrators of violent crimes, neurological research, and effective communication techniques in developing our training system. Our highly developed program is designed to provide our students with realistic and useful fighting and speaking skills.

What you can expect from IMPACT:

• A safe space to learn. We know even committing to the class can be a huge challenge for some students. Many of our students are recovering from assault. We create a judgment-free, supportive community in each and every class.
• Real-world physical self-defense skills for a wide variety of “worst fear” scenarios. After Basics, you will be able to fight your way out of being grabbed from behind, pinned to the ground, and confronted head on.
• A new understanding of your power. Many students have never done physical things let alone hit an object with their full power. Once you know you can fight for your life and win, the way you carry yourself, value yourself and interact with others shifts.
• Verbal skills and healthy boundary-setting. Thanks to their new confidence, most students report not needing their physical skills but using their verbal skills all the time to do much more than talk their way out of danger. They face hard talks with family, negotiate that raise with an intimidating boss, and speak up in ways they wouldn’t have prior to class.
• Intuition and awareness skills. You’ll see simple ways you can move through the world more safety and have a new relationship with trusting your instincts. You were given them for your survival!
• Skills that stick with you. Because our adrenaline state training creates instant muscle memory, the skills stay in your body for the rest of your life – like riding a bike. That rape defense seminar you took? The skills were gone the moment you left the classroom.
• Adrenaline/fear management skills that open up your life in unpredictable ways. We hear from students that tried a scary new sport, did better on a big test or calmly managed an accident site. How will IMPACT change your life?

Boundaries

A boundary is a line that marks or fixes a limit. Boundaries can be physical, verbal, mental or emotional. You have the right to set limits with people and to ask for what you want. Setting boundaries is about saying “no” when you mean no and “yes” when you mean yes.

Good communication and boundary-setting skills are the foundation for personal safety. Improving your communication abilities makes it less likely that you will ever be selected for an assault. Just as you have the right to defend yourself from physical attack, you have the right to defend yourself from verbal assault, emotional abuse, and uncomfortable behavior. Setting boundaries means protecting both your physical safe zone and your emotional safe zone.

Boundary-setting skills include learning how to:
• Identify, communicate and enforce our boundaries
• Read a situation and make quick and appropriate responses
• Problem-solve and lead ourselves out of trouble while under pressure

Believe it or not, we give you the tools NOT to fight. Graduates report using verbal boundaries skills virtually every day. These verbal skills become one of the most valuable aspects of the IMPACT training, not only because of how frequently they are used but because of how effective they are. Even those who consider themselves assertive gain a lot from practicing boundary-setting skills in our classes.

IMPACT courses address situations ranging from the day-to-day boundary violation to the worst-case scenario of actual assault. Our classes set up safe simulations reproducing what happens in the “real world.”

Using an integrated mix of physical and verbal skills, our classes are engaging and hands-on. Classes are fluid, interactive, and supportive. Anyone can take IMPACT. We’ve adapted to teach young, old, blind, deaf, mute, physically challenged…we can find a way to teach you!

What type of self defense do you teach?

Our goal is to empower individuals to make effective personal safety choices. In an emotionally supportive environment, you will practice both verbal and physical skills with our fully padded mock assailant. With this unique physical training method, you can deliver full-force, full-contact, knock-out blows to vulnerable areas on the padded assailant’s body in dynamic, interactive fights. Training also includes verbal self defense strategies practiced in role playing scenarios in a wide array of contexts, dealing with strangers as well as people you know.

Is IMPACT a form of martial arts?

No. While the IMPACT system owes credit to many different martial arts such as Krav Maga, Aikido and Tae Kwon Do, it does not share the discipline or fitness goals of martial arts. It can best be described as street fighting which is appropriate as most attacks are scrappy, no-rules attacks.

What will I learn?

You will learn the most common ways that individuals are attacked as well as the strategies and psychology of assailants. Classes prepare you mentally and physically to handle the full range of challenging situations that we all face in our daily lives, including the danger of extreme circumstances.

Specifically, you will learn to:
• avoid danger by heightening your awareness
• shorten your body’s natural “freeze” response
• capitalize on the adrenaline rush (your body’s response to fear and danger)
• assess situations quickly and respond decisively
• use your voice, brain, body and spirit to stay safe

What other benefits will I receive?

The benefits of class go beyond learning how to stay safe or how to intervene in a potentially violent encounter.

Our graduates report positive effects such as:
• greater general awareness and confidence
• increased self-esteem and assertiveness
• ability to communicate clearly and directly
• creative and flexible problem solving skills
• improved leadership skills
• more focus and effectiveness at work
• calm and clearheaded thinking during stress or crisis

Who teaches the classes?

Our instructors undergo hundreds of hours of training and supervision to earn their certification from nationally recognized instructor trainers. They are professionals dedicated to ending the cycle of violence. Both our mugger and lead instructors are vetted and screened before being accepted into our training program.

Will these techniques work for me?

That is really up to you. Once you are in touch with your fighting spirit and know your life is worth fighting for, you will fight successfully. We believe that the one who decides to win the fight does just that.

What if I have special needs?

We are committed to removing barriers for all interested students. Our instructors will adapt the techniques to work with your physical challenges or pre-existing injuries. We’ve taught 90-year olds in walkers, people with cerebral palsy, and typical athlete joint injuries. In fact, the blindfold fighting techniques in our Advanced Course came out of working with a group of blind students.

Do you have payment plans/Financial assistance?

Yes, for all courses over $100.

We never want money to be the reason a person doesn’t get this life-saving training.

Payment Plans: we require $100 deposit and then we can break up the remainder of the tuition into two, three or four monthly payments as best fits your budget.

Work-Trade: we require $100 deposit and then generally trade 20 hours of volunteer work for a Basics Course. We can also do a mix; 10 hours work and half the remaining tuition after the $100 deposit, etc.

If a class has a minimum number of students we are able to offer a scholarship spot. Scholarship recipients will have demonstrated financial need and will write an essay of their class experience to be shared in our materials.

What is “Personal Safety”?

We define personal safety in a broad context. Personal safety is external awareness of our environment, choices about how we behave, how we speak to others, and how we let others speak to us. In its simplest sense, it is the skills needed to set limits in situations that make us uncomfortable or are potentially dangerous. It includes how we feel about ourselves (self-esteem, self-efficacy, and confidence), how we relate to our bodies, and how to trust our instincts.

How do you teach personal safety skills to children?

Our educational model emphasizes concept-based, learned, repetitive role-plays. We teach positive reinforcement and learning through success. Simple safety rules are presented in a straightforward and understandable manner. All of the teaching material is age appropriate so students can easily learn the information. The curriculum follows the recommendations of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It’s not a scary class but a fun process where kids tap into their inner superhero.

How can this program lower children’s anxiety?

Giving children information about safety is part of our responsibility as adults. Education does not raise children’s anxiety; it actually can lower anxiety by providing them with a plan and teaching them self-reliance. Teaching self-defense is similar to teaching your children other safety skills, such as how to cross the street or how to use a kitchen knife. It is not necessary to discuss the details of being hit by a car or cut by a sharp knife to learn safe conduct, just as it is not necessary to discuss the details of child abuse or molestation to learn self defense.