Be Your Family’s Hero!
GO is a self-defense lifestyle blog for women 18 to 80, especially moms!
You can also find some unusual on-demand courses here if you’re looking for self-defense and self-reliance skills more fitted to a woman’s needs and lifestyle.
You know how, as women, many of us live with the fear of potential violence–how it undermines our ability to move POWERFULLY in the world–and we don’t know what to do about it?
Well, I write about how we can be our own bodyguards by gathering cool skills and understanding more about human psychology, to demystify the way crimes and emergencies evolve, so we can beat all the odds and live our best lives.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
The Other Vitamin C
The Other Vitamin C(or Slaying Hydras & ORCs)The acceptance and understanding of conflict is as integral to our quest to be safer and raise savvy kids as vitamin C is essential to many cell functions, yet neither is naturally occurring, both must be sought. With a few psychological tools
The Health Trifecta: Exercise, Food & Rest; Part I: An Exercise in Minimalism
The Health Trifecta: Exercise, Food & RestPart I: An Exercise in MinimalismGetting or Staying in Shape When You're Exhausted and Overwhelmed My son was a toddler and I still hadn’t figured out the self-care conundrum. I’d had a hellish eighteen or so months of pregnancy and post-partum recovery including
What You Don’t Know About Women’s Self Defense Could Hurt You, Part II
What You Don't Know About Women's Self Defense Could Hurt You Part II ... By Teja Van Wicklen In business, we find our niche first and then create the product around that niche. In architecture, we build the building for what it has to do and the
COURSES
SECRETS of WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE
An advanced and comprehensive course on mental and physical self defense by and for women, offered in a conversational tone with understanding and humor.
(Note to Martial Arts Instructors: Teach Your Students or Guide them through the lessons. Special group and affiliate pricing.)
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~ Explore the crime timeline and see crime evolving early on
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~ Learn the 12 Rules of Disengagement in case of a physical assault
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~ Identify the 12 Anti-Target Traits that put you on the criminal radar
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~ Separate real concerns from head noise, by deciphering your own signals and using them properly
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~ Prepare your daughter for a safe college experience by educating her about common ploys used by predators
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~ Discover the confidence that comes with self-reliance
DON’T JUST SAY YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR FAMILY, KNOW YOU CAN!
If you’re interested in learning self-defense-leadership by and for women in your own time, at your own pace, please click below so I can let you know when the next live course will begin!
STROLLER SELF DEFENSE
Learn how to protect your little ones while out pushing a stroller.
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~ Practice strategic movement and situational awareness with a stroller
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~ Turn your stroller into an ally
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~ Arm yourself with the knowledge and tools to mitigate danger while responsible for a child
THIS COURSE WILL HELP YOU CLEAR YOUR MIND OF CONCERN AND STROLL WITH CONFIDENCE!
If you’re interested in learning self-defense-leadership by and for women in your own time, at your own pace, please click below so I can let you know when the next course will begin!
“Teja has a way of bringing to light things you ought to know but never thought of… and she knows how to convey it all in a way that is easy to absorb. Everyone walked away having learned something valuable and new.”
“OMG! You actually had me in stitches! I had kombucha come out my nose! ….This is critical to all women, especially mothers…. It has motivated me to change for the better… I love this!”
“If every young female college student or mother-to-be took this course there would be a lot less for me to do.”
COURSES in the WORKS
Let us know what courses you would like to see next and enter for a chance to WIN A FREE SPOT in an upcoming course!
GO Flow
Self Defense movement flow for Women & Moms
Learn strategic self defense movements created for the female body. Get STRONGER the right way and without injury. Increase, FLEXIBILITY and ENDURANCE, all while learning the smartest ways to move in an emergency!
The 12 Rules of Disengagement
What you need to know about how physical self defense works… and how it doesn’t.
Fighting techniques aren’t the be all end all. When should you fight? How should you fight? When should you run? Should you scream? Should you do what he says? What else is there to know? Quite a bit, actually….
PepperSpray University
A quick lesson on the rarely discuss details and laws regarding the use of Pepper Spray.
“I LOVED this weeks training with Teja. She brought up so many things I’d never thought about – like [the ways] little girls are taught to ‘hang back’ and little boys become more equipped to deal with aggression even at a young age… this is so true! very good info, Teja, am looking forward to the next session!”
“This is a college course in self-defense… so impressive in scope and depth and with such an acute understanding of women’s issues. It will be my gift to every woman I know.”
“I’m learning so much and I love it! And it’s not just the course content itself that is great, it’s the interaction in the [community] group, the discussions, the disagreements… life experiences, the support… and the fun as well! Thanks Teja.”
COURSES in the WORKS
Let us know what courses you would like to see next and enter for a chance to WIN A FREE SPOT in an upcoming course!
GOGA
Self Defense movement flow for Women & Moms
Learn strategic self defense movements created for the female body. Get STRONGER the right way and without injury. Increase, FLEXIBILITY and ENDURANCE, all while learning the smartest ways to move in an emergency!
The 12 Rules of Disengagement
What you need to know about how physical self defense works… and how it doesn’t.
Fighting techniques aren’t the be all end all. When should you fight? How should you fight? When should you run? Should you scream? Should you do what he says? What else is there to know? Quite a bit, actually….
PepperSpray University
A quick lesson on the rarely discuss details and laws regarding the use of PS.
ABOUT GO!
GO is a self-defense-lifestyle, leadership and self reliance blog for women 18 to 80, especially moms!
I’m also creating unusual on-demand courses for those looking for self-defense and self-reliance skills more fitted to a woman’s needs and lifestyle.
You know how, as women, many of us live with the fear of potential violence–how it undermines our ability to move POWERFULLY in the world–and we don’t know what to do about it?
Well, I write and create courses to help women figure out things it took me a lifetime to learn–how to be our own bodyguards by gathering cool skills; how to understand more about human psychology, motivation and the crime timeline; how to demystify the way crimes and emergencies evolve, so we can beat all the odds and live our best lives.
I write for women who:
- want to feel more in control of their space
- want to feel safer in their skin
- feel they may be in an unsafe relationship
- are single moms with little or no help
- live in bad neighborhoods
- work at lonely or night jobs and ride elevators or transit after hours
- want their kids to be street smart and able to spot danger and take care of themselves
- like to party and would rather not give it up but want to be smart about it!
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Maybe you, a friend or a family member has been harassed or assaulted and you want to turn fear into strength and knowledge. Or maybe you’re just just curious about how predators think and what they look for in a victim.
Get Offensive is my way of empowering you to find your own answers so you can become your family’s hero.
Let’s revel in the chess game of life, DISMANTLE FEAR, use emotions wisely, SEE CONFLICT AS OPPORTUNITY, raise engaged, resilient children who won’t become victims or criminals and, even if it comes to the worst, KNOW WE CAN BEAT INNUMERABLE ODDS and come out on top!
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ABOUT TEJA
My name is Teja. I’m a 30-year veteran martial artist with a background in edged weapons, firearms and wilderness survival. I’ve studied martial disciplines from many cultures over the years. I have been a personal trainer and a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I am also the ADHD Mom of an ADHD son.
I’ve been featured in magazines like Madmoiselle and Black Belt and interviewed on Television for ESPN, Nancy Grace, Good Day New York and Veria Living. I once leaped on a melon in a grocery store for a South West Air Super Bowl commercial.
For more than five years, I managed a martial arts production company called Art of War that created and performed over 100 staged stunt performances for major events, movie premieres, pharmaceutical conferences and film festivals worldwide. I’ve been involved in many areas of martial arts from stunt performance and choreography, to high-level training with elite military personnel. I’ve engaged in a number of training exercises I don’t necessarily recommend others try and had experiences I might have been happier (though not necessarily smarter) without–facing down live darts, fighting through pepper spray, feeling the full-body jolt of a Taser, but none of it kicked my ass the way motherhood did.
After months of nausea and sleep deprivation, a third trimester hernia surgery, a blood-born strep infection and post-partum depression, I surfaced in my new role as a mom.
Injury and illness left me feeling horrifyingly vulnerable and caused me to rethink everything I had learned about martial arts, self-defense and fighting.
When had I ever trained with a baby attached to me or while pushing a stroller? How would kicking, punching or grappling even work with a kid in the mix? What were the survival answers to any number of disturbing scenarios and why had they never come up in thirty years of training? Didn’t lots of people have kids? Injuries? Extenuating circumstances?
It struck me that teaching a pregnant woman with a toddler in tow how to fight off two attackers with knives was rather like teaching someone how to survive a driving accident without ever teaching them how to drive. There just seemed to be so many precursor skills that weren’t being taught.
I’ve been working these particular questions for more than ten years now. My quest is to find the place where self defense meets common sense, where self awareness, situational awareness, strategy and problem solving coincide; to create a paradigm of empowerment for women who want to dismantle anxiety, see conflict as opportunity and most importantly raise productive, resilient children who won’t become victims (or criminals).
So now, I blog and create courses to fill a gap and to help women explore their own empowerment. Join me!
CONTACT US
Frequently Asked Questions
What does GO offer?
Go offers a blog and courses in something new I’ve been calling self-defense leadership which includes mental and physical self defense in that order, the combination of which empowers us to move through life with more security and confidence and less fear, apprehension, confusion and anxiety. read more here: About GO.
Here are our Current Courses.
You can find Courses in the Works here.
Does GO offer physical self defense?
Get Offensive includes blogs and courses about physical self defense, but it is most concerned with a 360 degree look at self defense beginning with how crime happens and how women move through the world.
GO began as a way to help women learn to protect themselves against a physical attack by moving like women rather than like men, while also honoring a woman’s very specific lifestyle. However, because of the high risk a smaller or pregnant woman, or a women with children faces in physically confronting one or more violent people, GO puts mental self defense and pressured problem solving first.
It’s better to STAY out of trouble than to have to GET out of trouble! Not as sexy perhaps, but ultimately the strategy and psychology go beyond safety and help us get ahead in life.
How do the courses work?
Most GO courses run on demand with video, audio and printable materials. Your course will be available to you as soon as you’ve paid and logged in. We also do periodic Zoom and live courses and plan to do more.
Who should take GO courses?
Anyone is welcome to take courses. But GO is built specifically with Moms with young kids in mind. Teja focuses on moms because that’s where she saw the most need. Moms have the next generation to raise and protect and she didn’t see any effective self defense options specifically for them.
Teja is a lifelong martial artist who endured a difficult pregnancy and realized all her years of training hadn’t addressed the very complex and specific set of self defense questions that come up for women with babies and young children. What are the self defense answers for a woman carrying a baby in a sling or Moby, pushing a stroller or responsible for multiple children?
The beauty of self defense for Moms is that it easily translates to women in general because it is about learning to assess your level of vulnerability and answer your own questions. Some courses, like Stroller Self Defense are clearly for moms, some–Secrets of Women’s Self Defense–are for women in general, some, like PepperSpray University are for both.
Is there a money back guarantee?
Yes! There is a money back guarantee that is dependent on the length of each individual course. If you are interested in a specific course just ask us!
MISCELLANEOUS MUSINGS
“Teaching a pregnant woman with a toddler in tow
how to fight off two attackers with knives
is sort of like teaching someone how to survive a driving accident
without first teaching them to drive.“
~ Teja VanWicklen