Women's Self Defense
Women's self defense in Philadelphia, trained until it actually works.
Your first 2 weeks are free. All you buy today is your gear — $180, yours to keep no matter what. Then $49/wk.
The short answer
Logic teaches women's self defense as ongoing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training, not as a weekend seminar. Our women's classes run weekly in Fishtown at 1360 N American St, coached by 2x World Champion Gina Mancuso. Jiu jitsu is the system taught because it addresses the situation most women are actually worried about: being grabbed, held down, or taken to the ground by someone bigger. Your first 2 weeks are free.
What you actually get
- Weekly women's classes with 20+ women training, coached by 2x World Champion Gina Mancuso.
- Escapes first. How to get off the bottom, break a grip, get back to your feet, and create distance.
- Live, resisting practice against a real person — the part a seminar cannot give you.
- The option to train in women's classes only, or in the general beginner classes as well. Your choice.
- A room run by professionals. Inappropriate behavior is not tolerated, and that is enforced.
- Free private parking on site, so you are not walking blocks to your car after an evening class.
What it costs
Real numbers. No "contact us for pricing".
First 2 weeks
Full membership access, including women's classes.
Free
Gear kit — one time
Gi, belt, and rashguard. Yours to keep no matter what.
$180
Membership after that
Billed every 4 weeks ($196) on a 12-month membership.
$49/wk
Belt testing or sign-up fees
We do not charge them.
$0
Cancel free anytime in your first 14 days — one tap in the Wodify app. After that, 60 days' notice to cancel.
Why a one-day self defense seminar does not work
A three-hour seminar can teach you awareness, boundary-setting, and a handful of techniques. Those things have value and we are not dismissing them. What a seminar cannot do is build a response that survives adrenaline. Under real stress you do not perform what you were shown once — you perform what you have repeated hundreds of times against someone actively resisting. That requires ongoing training. It is the entire reason we teach self defense as a class you attend every week rather than an event you attend once. If you have already done a seminar, this is the next step, not a repeat.
Why jiu jitsu specifically
Most training aimed at women teaches striking. Striking is useful, and it also assumes distance and a size advantage you may not have. The scenarios women describe most often — being grabbed from behind, pinned against a wall, held down, taken to the ground — are grappling problems. Jiu jitsu was built on the premise that a smaller person can control and escape a larger, stronger one using leverage, position, and technique instead of power. That premise is the whole sport, and it is tested every single class against people who are genuinely trying to stop you. We teach escapes before submissions. Getting out and getting away comes first.
What your first month looks like
Week one you learn how to fall, how to base, and how to keep someone from controlling your hips. Nothing is done to you that you have not agreed to. Week two you start drilling escapes from the two positions that matter most — being mounted and being pinned on your side. Slowly, with a cooperative partner. By week three or four most women are doing light positional rounds: one goal, one position, low intensity, and always optional. That is the point where the training stops being theory.
Training with men, and the room itself
You can train exclusively in women's classes if that is what you want, and plenty of members do. Many women choose to also train in the general classes, because a self defense skill that only works against other women is incomplete. When you do, the room is supervised, partners are chosen deliberately, and coaches scan the floor every round. Inappropriate behavior gets someone removed, not spoken to gently. Gina coaches the women's program. She is a 2x World Champion, and she has heard every version of I'm not sure I can do this.
When these classes run
Weekly
Women's Jiu Jitsu
20+ women training, coached by Gina Mancuso
Mon & Wed evenings
Beginner Gi — white belts only
Open to everyone starting from zero
Tue & Thu 6:00am
Morning class
Before-work training
Saturday 9:30am
Weekend class
Easiest class to start with
Questions people actually ask
Real students. Real results.
"As a beginner, I never expected the support they gave me. Absolutely the best place regardless of your skill level."
David A.
Beginner
"My son went from shy to confident in three months. The coaches genuinely care about the kids, not just the technique."
Meg R.
Parent
"The training partners and coaching here are next level. I've trained at multiple gyms — this is the real deal."
Mike T.
Serious Student
"Walked in nervous, walked out hooked. The structured beginner classes made everything click. No ego, just coaching."
Priya S.
Beginner
"Dennis breaks down concepts in a way I've never gotten anywhere else. My game leveled up within weeks of joining."
Jordan K.
Competitor
Fishtown, Philadelphia.
Free private parking. Five minutes off I-95. Ten from Center City.
Earn it.
Your first 2 weeks are free. All you buy today is your gear — $180, yours to keep no matter what. Then $49/wk.
Start My Free 2 Weeks