A community of passionate, experienced, & fired up self-defense instructors
Wildfire Self-Defense
strength
confidence
peace of mind
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide effective self-defense skills, knowledge, and training to prevent and heal from violence or threat.
Where We Work
We teach self-defense at community centers, cafeterias, gymnasiums, meeting rooms, and open outdoor spaces in the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington metropolitan areas.
What to Expect
Experience the power of your intention, your voice, and your strikes. Create boundaries wherever you need them: in the home, the office, on the playground, on the street. Feel the confidence that comes with learning to strike with full commitment. Recognize warning signs of offender behavior and respond immediately. Have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you can and will defend yourself.
Workshops include information, discussion, role-plays, and striking. They are physically active but designed for every body – no matter your level of fitness, training or experience. We create a safe space for people of all abilities to explore their strength and options.
Contact Us
We Bring WildFire Self-Defense to You!
You choose the location. We bring the training. We will teach indoors or out. All that is required is a large, open space, free of obstacles, where participants can move freely and safely. We have taught in community centers, cafeterias, gymnasiums, meeting rooms, as well as open outdoor spaces.
Our Workshops
We offer age-appropriate workshops for adults and children in a safe, supportive, positive atmosphere.
Adult workshops are taught by women with a focus on the ways women personally and systematically experience violence. They are open to women and teen girls ages 12 and up, and cis, trans, and non-binary people who are comfortable in a women-centered environment.
Our workshops for children are open to girls and boys ages 7 – 11.
Recent Blog Posts
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Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust In The Time Of Serial Killers
Murderland, by Caroline Fraser, is a horror story. [i] True crime, memoir, history, geology, geography, all woven into a story about the explosion of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest during the 1970’s and 80’s. Why there? Why then? Why do these monsters exist? Murderland is an American story of industry, hubris and greed. It…
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Resistance Can Look Like This…
Self-defense is resistance. It is an unequivocal NO. A line in the sand. It is refusing to believe the lies, internalize the criticism, justify the abuse, buckle under the pressure. Resistance is the look that says you will never give in. The voice that tells the truth. It can be fierce and physical. Resistance takes…
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De-Escalation: Surviving in the Eye of the Storm
Are we becoming a nation of vigilantes? How can we turn down the temperature in a climate where people are so divided and grievances are fueled by the language of anger and hate? Recently I was asked to facilitate a workshop on de-escalation for a local business. These questions were in the back of my…