In our current climate it is more important than ever for LGBT students to give ourselves the resources to move through the world safely. This isn’t just a self-defense class – it’s about using our understanding of systemic injustice to take back our power. The training emphasizes not just physical skills, but also the mental and emotional tools needed to reclaim your agency in our current social reality. We’ll explore how to set boundaries, assert your right to personal safety, and navigate difficult situations. Whether you're looking to feel more secure in your day-to-day life or simply want to build your inner strength, this workshop is for you.
As part of this experience, This May Help (UCSB Pahl Center) is offering a Focus Group to study the mental health effects of the treatment and listen to student voices around mental health treatment on campus. Let’s talk about how building physical strength and setting boundaries can help us to combat the feelings of depression, anxiety, anger and helplessness that the current moment has created.
Refreshments will be provided.
Jay (Janet) O’Shea has been an empowerment self-defense instructor since 2017.
The author of Risk, Failure, Play: What Dance Reveals about Martial Arts Training
(2019, Oxford University Press), she is currently working on a book on physicality and
emotion entitled Bodies on the Line: Physical Risk and Social Justice. A practitioner of
jeet kune do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and Filipino martial arts, she is professor of World Arts
and Cultures/Dance at UCLA. When she’s not swinging a stick or teaching about
healthy boundary setting, she writes short fiction and general non-fiction.