Self-Defence
Bash back
Every single member of the LGBTQIA+ community has the right to safety and freedom from abuse. However, we live in a country that is increasingly hostile to queer people and people from all marginalised groups. The mission of BENT Collective’s Self-Defence classes is to give queer people the knowledge, skills and confidence to defend themselves whenever they are threatened, and empower our community to fight back.
Our lead coach Zoë founded the class out of frustration over the fact that the vast majority of self-defence information seems to come from straight male ex-cops; in other words, people who have no experience being marginalised or vulnerable. We teach queer and trans-led classes based on our own experiences, and tailored to the needs of LGBTQIA+ people.
What is self-defence?
Self-defence is a really broad term: basically it’s anything you do to keep yourself safe from violence. We teach a range of techniques that we’ve found to be useful, easy-to-remember and safe to train. We also cover non-physical self defence, like de-escalation techniques.
Some things we teach include:
Escapes from common dangerous positions
Trips, throws and takedowns
Fighting back when you’re knocked down
Self-defence law
Verbal and physical de-escalation
Pinning and restraining
Personal awareness
Basic strikes and strike defence
Breaking grips and getting free from an attacker
Inclusive. Effective. Empowering.
Our principles are simple:
Self-defence created by and for queer people.
It’s easy to fight off an attacker when you’re a 6’4” ex-paratrooper, but what works for them might not work for us. We teach techniques for the dolls, the twinks, the dykes and the queens based on what we need and what works for us.
Our classes are for everyone.
Everyone deserves to be safe, no matter their body type or ability level. Everyone is welcome in our class, and will always be taught techniques and knowledge that will work for them. We will customise everything we teach to work for you and your body.
We are inclusive and trauma-informed.
Self-defence can bring up traumatic memories, so we work as hard as we can to make our classes suitable for everyone. We don’t victim-blame and we take your psychological safety as seriously as your physical safety.
We inspire fun not fear.
We’re not here to scare you about the dangers of the world. We want queer people to come along, enjoy themselves, feel empowered and be part of a community. Learning self-defence is a social activity, so come along and have fun!
Our coach
BENT Collective’s Self-Defence classes are run by Zoë, a qualified self-defence instructor and long-time martial artist. She has over a decade of experience in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and MMA, and takes techniques from her wide experience to form her self-defence curriculum.
Zoë was inspired to start a self-defence class by two things: the tragic murder of Brianna Ghey, and her own experience attending self-defence classes run by straight white men. She realised that most self-defence instruction is created by men with no idea about what it’s like to be vulnerable and marginalised, and so set out to create classes that worked for the queer community.
