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.

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.

Yes, you do not need any former training in martial arts or self defense. The program is unique in it's design and requires no technical nor physical prior training.

Great! All experience and training is highly valued. IMPACT is unique in it's design, in the sense that it adds additional extra layers that other forms of self defense or martial arts don't have. More specifically: It simulates and guides you through stress and your emotional response within simulated verbal and physical confrontrations. This research-based, adrenalized form of training targets your procedural memory (muscle memory) and enables your body to integrate a vast amount of techniques and responses within a limited amount of time. The ability to hit and fight full force.

Yes. It is. Actually, our trainings depart from the fact that most people in their lives have experienced some form of violence. IMPACT trainers are trauma-informed professionals that will guide you through any possible triggers and support you in gaining back full control.

All you will need to follow this training is yourself, and comfortable clothes and shoes to move in. Think of sports clothes and shoes. You will need no special protection such as a teeth guard, gloves or any other martial arts materials.

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.

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 clear-headed thinking during stress or crisis.

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.

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.

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.