A weekend workshop can teach you a technique. Some community workshops are genuinely worth attending, and we would tell you to go. What a workshop cannot do is make a skill yours: that takes repetition, pressure-tested practice, and coaching over time.
That is what Forge builds. Our self-defense training runs through ongoing classes, where techniques are learned properly, practiced against resistance, and layered with the awareness and judgment that matter more than any single move. You train because capability feels good to own, the same way swimming or driving does.
Coach Wil is a certified F.I.G.H.T. instructor under the founder of the Haganah system, with certifications spanning hand-to-hand combatives, Israeli tactical knife defense, and ground survival.
Three ways in
The Women's Self-Defense Workshop is a focused place to start, with regular Forge programs to continue in. See women's self-defense.
Age-appropriate safety skills, confidence, and discipline, taught through structured martial arts training. See kids self-defense.
Self-defense at Forge is delivered through MMA-derived training: striking, grappling, and everything between, pressure-tested and ongoing. Teens train in Youth MMA; adults and teens 13 and up train in the Saturday and Advanced MMA classes. See the MMA classes.
Skills you own, not moves you saw once
The best self-defense outcome is the situation you saw coming and avoided. Judgment and awareness are taught, not assumed.
Techniques are practiced against real resistance in a controlled, coached setting, because a skill that only works on a compliant partner is not a skill.
The same training builds strength, conditioning and coordination, so the capability comes with a workout rather than instead of one.
Rated Excellent on Google · read our reviews
Said by the people training
"The instructors are professional, knowledgeable, patient, and genuinely committed to teaching practical self-defense skills that can be used in real-world situations."
"I feel stronger, more sure of myself, and way more capable, especially when it comes to self-defense. That growth has even carried over into my everyday life."
"Absolutely the best Dojo and teacher(s) to learn all MMA, BJJ and self defense skills!"
Rated Excellent on Google · read our reviews
Self-defense questions
Is one Women's Self-Defense Workshop enough to learn self-defense?
The workshop is a real starting point, but one event cannot prepare someone for every situation. Forge's self-defense system is built on combat-proven martial arts techniques, including Haganah F.I.G.H.T. principles and fundamental Gracie Jiu-Jitsu skills. The workshop gives women focused time to begin learning and practicing those ideas. Like any physical skill, capability and confidence grow through continued practice and repetition. Women who want to keep training can continue developing their striking, strength, fitness, and confidence through Forge's women's classes.
Where can I continue self-defense training at Forge?
Women can start with the quarterly Women's Self-Defense Workshop and continue with Women's Only Kickboxing or Women's Only Strength & Kickboxing. Kids and teens build self-defense skills inside their MMA classes. Adults who want ongoing striking can start with Co-Ed Kickboxing, while adults interested in grappling can start with no-gi Jiu-Jitsu. Adults and teens 13 and up who want MMA itself can start in the Saturday Youth-Teen-Adult MMA class, all levels welcome. Tell us what you are looking for, and we will point you toward the best starting place.
Do you use fear to sell self-defense?
No. We do not market self-defense by frightening people or using worst-case scenarios as sales tools. Forge teaches capability: awareness, control, confidence, and practical responses. Our system is rooted in combat-proven martial arts, including Haganah F.I.G.H.T. principles and fundamental Gracie Jiu-Jitsu skills. The purpose is not to make people feel hunted. It is to help them become calmer, more capable, and better prepared.
What is Forge's self-defense system built from?
It is built from real, combat-proven martial arts skills rather than a list of moves to memorize. Haganah F.I.G.H.T. contributes simple, direct principles based on natural movement, efficiency, control, and responding without depending entirely on strength. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu contributes fundamental standing and ground skills for positioning, control, escape, and dealing with a larger opponent. Forge brings those foundations together through coached practice and repetition so students understand what each skill is for and how its pieces connect.
Start with a free session
Come train once, meet the coaches, and see how capability is actually built.