Defence Unlimited empowers women with self-defence skills

What if the most powerful self-defence tool you carry is not your fist, but your voice, your awareness, and your confidence to act?

That was the message behind Defence Unlimited’s Women’s Day self-defence workshop, where 50 women and girls, aged 12 and above, gathered at Forking Food Restaurant in Bryanston for an energetic day of practical training, empowerment, and meaningful conversations about gender-based violence, mental health, and personal safety.

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Now, in its second year, the free workshop was created to give women more than techniques to use in a confrontation. It was about developing a self-defence attitude, knowing how to recognise danger, establish boundaries, respond decisively, and, where possible, prevent a threatening situation from escalating.

According to Defence Unlimited founder Warren Ho, the foundation of the self-defence training is understanding: What are you willing to fight, die, or kill for?

“By understanding the question for yourself and the answer to this question, it gives you the foundation of what you should do in a self-defence situation.”

Participants were encouraged to understand that shouting, setting a boundary, and drawing attention to a situation are powerful defensive tools. “Your voice is a powerful defence tool that we need to learn to use.

Women were also taught how to fight efficiently, by striking a target efficiently and making sure that if someone goes down, they stay down.”

The physical training was complemented by an important conversation about the emotional and psychological realities surrounding gender-based violence (GBV).

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Samela Hoza, a social worker from Safer City Group, challenged the tendency to focus on GBV only after violence has occurred. “When you look at our system, a lot of things are more of damage control than prevention. It’s more about services that are available after a person is a victim and less of how we protect people from being victimised.”

She encouraged attendees to become proactive about their safety. “I always say, when I talk to people, sometimes it has to start with you. No one is going to come to save you, but the nice thing is that when you take the first step, there are always people there to support you.”

She added that workshops, such as self-defence training, are important because if women can be empowered to fight back, these are the strategies.

“There are companies now that have panic buttons and alarm. Your safety comes first. As much as we are always willing to pay for Netflix, we need to also take subscriptions of things that can protect our safety, so that when something happens, there’s always help around you to come to your rescue.”

One of the attendees, Stacey Williams, appreciated that participants were not overloaded with information, but instead walked away with practical strategies they could remember.

@caxtonjoburgnorth Defence Unlimited founder Warren Ho and Kassandra Kokolis demonstrate self-defence techniques during the Women’s Day workshop in Bryanston. Video: Xoliswa Zakwe #Johannesburg #LocalNews #cityofjoburg #foryourpage #TikTokNews #satiktok_sa #SouthAfrica #localnews #fyp #viral #2026 #foryou #BreakingNews #Sandton ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

“This is my second year doing the self-defence course with Defence Unlimited. I love that it’s a nice, short, compact course that gives you practical instructions for the day-to-day situations that might arise.

“It doesn’t overwhelm you with information. It just shows you some practical things that you can have in mind when you find yourself in a situation where you feel unsafe.”

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