Forge Athletics in Naples teaches self-defense three ways: inside the kids and youth martial arts classes for ages 4 to 17, six days a week; in the Women's Self-Defense Workshop, held on listed Saturdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm and led by Coach Wil Pino; and in private self-defense training for adults and teens.
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.
Families and organizations can arrange Private Group Self-Defense Workshops with coaching in awareness, boundaries, escapes, and defensive skills. Contact Forge to discuss your group's ages, goals, size, and preferred date.
Three ways in
The Women's Self-Defense Workshop is a focused place to start, with regular Forge programs to continue in. Dates are on the events calendar. See women's self-defense.
Age-appropriate safety skills, confidence, and discipline, taught through structured martial arts training. See kids self-defense.
Teens can train in Youth MMA. Youth-Teen-Adult MMA on Saturday welcomes ages 13 and up, including beginners. Teen & Adult MMA (Advanced) requires at least two to three years of prior martial arts training and a conversation with the coach. See the teen and adult MMA class options.
Adults and teens can book Private Self-Defense Training for individual instruction. Practice awareness, boundaries, escapes, striking, and ground defense with a coach who adjusts the work to your goals and experience. Start with a free consultation.
For ongoing group training, the Forge Starter has kickboxing and MMA routes for kids, teens, women and adults: four coached classes each, with or without gloves. See the Forge Starter.
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 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. Underneath those is the way Forge teaches everything: boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu as one connected skill set, so you can defend yourself standing up and on the ground; the kick as the great equalizer against a bigger, stronger attacker; position and leverage over strength when you have been grabbed or taken down; and the judgment to choose the right response. Forge brings those foundations together through coached practice and repetition so students understand what each skill is for and how its pieces connect.
Which class should my child start with?
Match your child's age first. At Forge Athletics in Naples, Little Dragons serves ages 4-8, Kids MMA ages 6-12, and Youth MMA ages 11-17 on weekdays, and self-defense is taught inside that ongoing training rather than as a separate course. Ages 11 and 12 overlap on purpose, so ask the coach about placement instead of choosing by birthday alone. A free first class lets your child try the group.
Can an adult beginner start with MMA?
Yes. Youth-Teen-Adult MMA is the group starting point for beginners ages 13 and up at Forge Athletics in Naples, Saturday at 11:15am, and it needs no prior martial arts training. Teen & Adult MMA (Advanced) is different: two to three years of prior training and a conversation with the coach. Arrange a free first Saturday class if you want ongoing MMA.
Does the Forge Starter include the Women's Self-Defense Workshop?
No. The Forge Starter covers four coached classes in an ongoing group program, not workshop admission. For women at Forge Athletics in Naples that means Women's Only Kickboxing and Women's Only Strength & Kickboxing, which build striking and fitness and do not replace the workshop's dedicated self-defense instruction. Workshop dates are on the events calendar; a free first group class is available separately.
Does the free first class apply to the Women's Self-Defense Workshop?
No. The Women's Self-Defense Workshop is a separate, paid event at Forge Athletics in Naples. The free first class is for one of Forge's weekly group classes, such as Women's Only Kickboxing, and you can take it before or after the workshop.
Ready to start? Four classes, with or without Forge boxing gloves. See the Forge Starter.
Ask About Self-Defense Training
Tell us whether you want a class, individual coaching, or a group workshop. Group classes begin with a complimentary first class. Private training starts with a free consultation; workshops are arranged by inquiry.