In 2013, the creator of Rise Defense attended her first Krav Maga class in an attempt to gain some sense of security while attending multiple night classes on a concerning college campus. The sessions were often a blend of feeling empowered but also maneuvering stress from previous traumas and allowing healing through difficult work that promoted growth and required self-reflection. Over the years
of Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training, there were numerous stories from others who were seeking a way to reclaim their autonomy after experiences with physical or sexual assault, domestic violence, or societal views on what was appropriate or expected. This grew further after multiple encounters with women asking about self-defense options as they were going through the difficult journey of distancing themselves from abusive partners. Most programs offering a self-defense option either conduct a seminar once or twice a year or are cost-prohibitive. This makes learning and even reducing elevated feelings in vulnerable positions difficult to learn and work through. Additionally, many of these programs approach learning from a preventative lens- which is so important at a time when many communities are facing heightened tensions, but it is not necessarily helpful to everyone. Rise Defense believes everyone deserves the opportunity to learn how to protect themselves and to maneuver potential situations confidently. We look to do this by removing common barriers that limit access such as cost, transportation, and triggers. RISE is a community-accessible format that teaches reality-effective techniques geared toward every day scenarios with the space and resources to allow survivors to work through known triggers and to learn techniques that will help them grow in confidence and sense of self. About the founder and primary instructor: Heather is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu who has been coaching since 2017, and has experience in counseling, healthcare, development across the lifespan, legal services and criminal justice, education, and DV and SA services. An array of experiences through work, volunteering, and training in different gyms has helped in developing a keen ability to meet folks where they're at and figure out a way to collaboratively learn. Heather's passion is learning and making that learning accessible to others. Seeing "it" click or watching someone's face relax and light up is the best part.
