Freestyle Martial Arts and Fitness
Martial Arts and Fitness in Albert Lea MN
(507) 402-9154
SAFE-Defense is real self-defense for women!
Most women’s self-defense programs miss 90% of what matters to women!
Hello, name is Brenden Troster. I’m the owner of Freestyle Martial Arts and also a licensed marriage and family therapist. I have been teaching women’s self-defense for 22 years, I’m a certified full instructor in Jeet Kune Do, Filipino martial arts, a USA Wrestling Coach, and a USA Boxing coach. One night I was looking at revising my self-defense course for women to include more education. As someone with three daughters of my own, I'm always looking to improve the self-defense training for women to be more comprehensive and effective. During my research, I realized that the vast majority of women's self-defense courses only touch about 10% of the situations women are most likely to encounter. This led to a revised and comprehensive self-defense program that that teaches you to defend yourself in every situation. The beauty of this program is that the education is comprehensive but the techniques are simple, brutally effective, and fun to learn.
(photo: learning to escape from being pinned)
Enter SAFE-Defense
SAFE-Defense is a unique program that is designed to address the scenarios where women actually encounter violence and sexual assault. It is unique because it focuses on the following aspects that are ignored by the vast majority of women’s self-defense programs:
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How to trust your intuition
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How to assess if someone is a threat to your safety
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How to build boundaries that protect you
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What to do if someone won’t take “NO” for an answer
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Common mistakes people make in using assertiveness. Hint: they aren’t really being assertive
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Learn to immediately recognize if a seemingly “nice guy” is using predatory psychological tactics to lure you into a false sense of security
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What to do when a stranger offers to "help" you.
What does SAFE-Defense Teach?
SAFE stands for Situational Awareness, Assertiveness, Fighting skills, and Escape. Situational awareness teaches you to assess various situations and your surroundings for threats. You also learn ways to carry yourself that make you less likely to look vulnerable to an attacker. Assertiveness training is exactly what it says it is. It is very common for people to struggle with being truly assertive because they worry about being rude or offensive. You will learn and practice true assertiveness that leaves little room for ambiguity. Fighting, this is the obvious aspect of women’s self-defense training. We teach you how to defend yourself against any number of threats such as:
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How to respond if grabbed from behind
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What to do if someone has a weapon
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How to escape if pinned to the ground by someone much larger and stronger than you
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What to do if someone is on drugs and you can’t inflict pain
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How to defend yourself if there is more than one attacker (this is a small minority of situations but we cover this also)
(photo: Mother and daughter training SAFE-Defense)
Escaping Safely
The final component of our training is how to escape. This part is important. You learn and practice recognizing when a threat is neutralized so that you can escape safely. You do not have to completely incapacitate an attacker to be able to escape. We also cover safely exiting situations where you feel that there is a threat, but you haven’t been attacked. There are many situations where your intuition may be sounding the alarm and you need to know how to safely leave those situations. You might be at a movie theatre and feel uneasy about someone that was at the movie alone and feel like they have been watching you. You might be on a date and you begin to recognize that your date is using the tactics you were taught in our training and you need to leave safely. We also cover the uncomfortable and unfortunate situations where someone you thought was a friend or intimate partner is using tactics and you need to escape safely.
The Self-Defense Aspect
The physical self-defense program we teach you gives you the opportunity to apply your skills using full force against an instructor that is fully suited up in protective gear. To know that the skills you are acquiring will work, you have to “pressure test” them against someone who is trying to attack you. Our training helps you learn tools that you can naturally use in any situation. These tools are so simple to learn that you do not have to commit a bunch of useless techniques to memory. Another aspect of our training is learning the proper strategy. This is done through learning the concept behind where and when to use certain tools. When you understand the concept of something you do not have to commit a bunch of things to memory. You will know the proper strategy for any situation you find yourself in. There is very little to memorize.
Your personal comfort and safety
As a mental health professional, I make sure everyone is given the space and time they need to process uncomfortable emotions that may come up during any portion of your training. Sometimes people experience strong emotions when doing this kind of training because of past experiences. While I’m not providing therapy in this situation, we provide a safe and secure space for you to process any discomfort you may experience.
Training Options
SAFE-Defense is a 5 hour course that can be scheduled as a one day training or 5 individual sessions.
One popular option is for mothers and daughters to train together!
The total cost of SAFE-Defense is $500. This can be made in one payment or payment arrangements. A $100 deposit is due before training to reserve your spot.
Up to 6 people can train together and learn SAFE-Defense for one low price! Fill out the form below to begin scheduling your course now!
To schedule your course or get more information Call (507) 402-9154
You can also fill out the form and we will get back to you asap. We are a local company and do not compile a mailing list or spam anyone. You will only be contacted regarding the information you requested.