Beginner's Self-Defense Class

In response to some recent assaults and incidents in, and around, the Castro neighborhood and at the request of a number of members of the community, we have scheduled this beginners self-defense training class to offer information, guidance, and techniques to community members to offer you some skills and tools to use if you are unlucky enough to be the target of violence on the streets.

The training will offer graduated, step-by-step, easy to understand and implement concepts and techniques to AVOID, DE-ESCALATE, ASK FOR ASSISTANCE, and if all else fails PHYSICALLY DEFEND yourself. The class is low impact, open to anyone of 18 years or older and the techniques are simple to learn, easy to remember, and critically easy to use in a stressful situation.

As a COMMUNITY we need to come together to help mitigate and eradicate any violence on the streets targeting anyone in the neighborhood, but this needs EVERYONE to participate and get INVOLVED:

1. TRAIN so you know how to defend yourself and what to do when you are threatened, or feel threatened,
2. USE the community support opportunities available throughout the neighborhood if you need them, and encourage your loved ones and friends to do the same,
3. HELP anyone in trouble by using your SAFETY WHISTLE to call attention to the incident and hopefully many other community members will do the same,
4. CALL 9-1-1 immediately to report any acts of violence or threats of violence so Police can respond as quickly as possible - time may be of the essence,
5. PROVIDE the details of what you saw to Police if you are a witness to a violent incident. Only witness statements can lead to an arrest, charges, and ultimately a conviction. YOUR statement may be critical.
6. FILE A REPORT with Police if you are the victim of a violent incident. SFPD are both trained and REQUIRED to be professional, empathetic, and understanding when you need to report any criminal act against you. DON'T worry about past experiences with Police in your original home town, DON'T worry about your immigration status within the US (San Francisco and California are SANCTUARY locations so you will not be asked for this information). If you want someone to be with you when you file your report, contact [email protected], or [email protected], or have a trusted friend with you.
7. SHARE your incident details with [email protected] so we can not only support you through the legal process, but we can also track these incidents to help us recognize patterns and work with SFPD to target dangerous areas or times with more enforcement.

SAFETY is a COMMUNITY EFFORT. The WHOLE community needs to respond and shout out with one voice "WE WILL NOT BE VICTIMS, WE WILL NOT BE TARGETS, WE WILL FIGHT BACK." Please share this class information with EVERYONE you know.

If you have any questions about the class, the content, or anything else please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

Host or Publisher Castro Community On Patrol (CCOP)