2 young ladies have made it their mission to empower every single woman and girl in South Africa… and by taking a class, you’ll be giving one back too!
Andy and Natasha have been doing Krav Maga for 3 and 4 years respectively. Krav Maga is a self defence system used to protect yourself against any imminent threat or attack.
This is an essential skillset to have in South Africa today, even more so as a woman. As Andy and Natasha started to learn and understand Krav Maga, it gave them a sense of confidence that has since changed the way they conduct themselves in public.
From the way they walk to their cars, walk alone, or conduct themselves when approached by strangers, they feel confident knowing that they are able to defend themselves – even if defending themselves means to just walk with an air of confidence and not that of a victim.
For a while now, these ladies have felt that too many women fall prey to attack simply because they do not know how to defend themselves, and thus by default are more susceptible to becoming victims.
To Natasha and Andy this is, quite simply, unacceptable.
They are adamant that every woman and girl, no matter their background or social standing, has the right to know how to defend herself.
It is for this reason that they decided to start Unleashed, a social entrepreneurship venture based on a 1-for-1 business model.
The slogan: Umama okhonayo ukuzivikela yena – zulu for ‘a woman who can protect herself’.
Any organisation, whether it is a school or a business is able to buy a course for their women, whilst at the same time donate a course to a shelter, school or charity of their choice.
Thus you buy one and give one at the same time. This means that they widen their scope and reach two-fold with every one course sold.
Why Krav Maga?
This is not about kata’s – it is about saving your life, even if that means being a bit unorthodox.
When Andy asked an ex-German Special Forces commander what the best form of self-defence for a woman is, he didn’t even blink before naming Krav Maga. This was a clear indication that they should indeed base their self defence principles on those of Krav Maga.
As women, there is a 90% chance that the attacker will be bigger and stronger than us. Krav Maga has taught Natasha and Andy that that doesn’t mean you can’t defend yourself against them.
Their program has been designed by women for women with the help of the leaders and pioneers of Krav Maga in South Africa. They use only techniques where they know that no matter how much bigger than you he is, you still have a fighting chance.
Their techniques aim to ensure that the women can get away from their attacker, no matter their size, fitness levels or age.
Courses run for 2 hours a week for 3 weeks, 6 hours in total.
They work with real world situations such as being grabbed by the hair, being choked both standing and on the ground,being grabbed from behind or by the wrist, to name a few.
The courses that are given at shelters or charities are all the same content in a single day workshop.
The reason being that shelters are often transient spaces where women come and go. When running the donated course, there is always a translator present ensuring that every attendee has a clear understanding of the content.
A trained counsellor is also available to ensure that there is someone qualified to work with any attendees who have a past trauma brought up during the duration of the course. No-one wants to think that they could fall victim to assault or sexual assault, but everyone benefits from knowing they can look after themselves should that day ever come.
For more info contact Andy or Natasha here or email andy@strivecba.co
by 
This is awesome. This is what empowering women is REALLY about. Telling bad men to “stop being bad” while telling women they “shouldn’t have to protect themselves” is stupid. You just leave them weak and vulnerable, and the bad men don’t care how many times you tell them to stop being bad.
If you want to really empower women, teach them how to kick ass! And Krav Maga is such a perfect martial art to teach them too, for defending themselves in these 1 on 1 situations.