Defense-ability

My mom and I took a self defense class at West Valley College taught by Rebecca and she’s an AWESOME instructor! She’s very patient & thorough and her humor makes the class even more fun! Thank you Rebecca!!! (And Dave!) :-P

My sisters and I attended Rebecca’s Basic Self Defense course. I can’t say enough great things about our experience. She definitely made the class relevant to real life situations through her stories. She pointed out how to avoid letting our daily routines and behaviors put us at risk for landing in dangerous situations. No matter how careful we thought we were before the class, there was always something that Rebecca pointed out that we could work on.
After going over different scenarios and how to be more aware of your surroundings, we learned a bunch of physical techniques that could be helpful in dangerous situations. These were tools that we could take home and practice on our own.
We walked out of the class having more knowledge than we had before. It’s hard to put everything we learned into a review so I would definitely recommend that every female take one of Rebecca’s classes. Totally worth it!

A friend of mine organized a group of women to take a class from Rebecca at Defense-​ability. Rebecca, along with her assistant Corey, first taught us how to avoid situations and how to be aware of our surroundings. Then, they taught us techniques to use if contact was unavoidable. I have taken some self defense classes in the past, and they have all had you partner up and try out the «moves.» We did partner up in this class, but what made this class different was that Rebecca was walking around, making sure we were doing things right. She would act as the attacker and «test» each of us and have us keep going until we did it right. I enjoyed her style – serious information along with a dose of humor. I would highly recommend this class for any woman who wants to be pro-​active about her safety.

Rebecca, Defense-ability’s owner has a genuine passion for women’s safety and it’s evident in her training.
She volunteered to teach a free class for the women in our townhouse complex in downtown San Jose, and exceeded our expectations.
From the beginning of class and up till the end, she kept our female participants of various ages (15 y/​o to 60+), ethnic groups, life experiences, and fitness levels engaged. Not to mention, pumped! Her use of videos and real life examples were real eye openers on how important it is to be aware of your surroundings.
Class participants were able to practice their newly acquired self defense skills on «Dave the dummy,» and also enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn how to use both a stun gun and pepper gel. Rebecca also gave us recommendations on what to look for when purchasing a stun gun and showed us an ingenious smartphone app that can help us if we are in danger.
Rebecca has transformed a tough topic into one everyone felt comfortable talking about and asking questions.
The class was a real confidence booster!
Be prepared to get involved, learn a lot and have a great time.
No sitting on the sidelines!
It’s hard to believe that this class was only three hours.
Time sure does fly when your having fun.
Thank you Rebecca and Defense-​Ability for your support of our diverse communities within Silicon Valley.

Rebecca has a lot of experience and was able to provide a lot of information and tips on keeping you safe. We go through a lot of information first then we practice actual physical defense moves with her and whomever we partner up with. My friends and I did the basic and college safety
class… And I wish I took this class when I was actually going to college. (I remember many late nights walking two blocks to the 7^th parking garage at SJSU.). I would highly recommend this class for any woman. And looking forward to a «mother w/​young children» self defense class Rebecca plans in putting together.

My friend and I both took Rebecca’s workshop and loved it! Having both been through some very tough situations, we had been looking for an opportunity to learn how to better protect ourselves. Rebecca’s class really fit the bill! We learned how to be more alert to the environment around us, what type of situations can be dangerous, how perpetrators think and pick victims, and, perhaps most importantly, how to physically defend ourselves. Rebecca has a lot of experience and knowledge. She’s also got a great sense of humor and a lot of good stories. It was a pleasure getting to know her as well!
A class for moms with small children is in the works as well, so we are hoping to join her for that sometime soon.

Our domestic violence program, AACI Asian Women’s Home was lucky to have been referred to Rebecca at Defense-​ability for Self-​Defense Training. Many of us are working with survivors of abusive relationships at any number of stages from safety planning to crisis intervention. Violence is never promoted in the work that we do, but safety and support is heavily emphasized to our clients and our individual well-​being.
The tips that Rebecca provided in her 2-​day training on awareness and prevention tactics was not only practical, but also very powerful! Rebecca was able to draw upon real life experiences and how to avoid sticky situations just by being more aware, assertive, and willing to act.
I’d highly recommend taking a class with Rebecca as I came away from the training feeling more confident in my own abilities to protect myself. Many thanks for the tips and tactics… your teachings are invaluable!

I attended the two self-​defense classes at our agency two Thursdays in a row. I love it. Rebecca is a very experienced trainer. She explained everything very well and instructed us in a very professional and patient manner. I learned so much from her classes and enjoyed it because she had not only the knowledge but also the humor the make the classes so much fun. I would recommend everyone to attend her training especially women. We can learn how to avoid dangerous situations and how to survive if things happen to us.

Last week, I had the opportunity to experience Part 1 of 2 self-​defense workshops conducted by Defense-​Ability founder, Rebecca O’Brien.
Learning about the potential dangers around you can be anxiety provoking and Rebecca doesn’t shy away from telling you about the horrors that can happen if you are a woman traveling alone. However, she follows up each scenario with a realistic solution so you leave the workshop feeling knowledgeable and empowered. Rebecca has multiple safety tips to share but her style of presentation is so fluid, I personally did not feel overwhelmed with information. She didn’t use many props other than a TV and a taser, but her speech was very effective. Her passion for helping people is channeled in her tone and mannerisms and the entire time I felt like I was being mentored one on one even though I was in a room full of other people. In summary, I highly encourage both sexes of all ages to experience this workshop. I feel like the lessons learned are beneficial if not for yourself, but for someone you care about. Part 2 of the workshop will be coming up soon and I hope to update this post then with more information on my experience!

My daughter had just graduated from college and was working long hours, traveling on public transportation, and I was really worried about her safety. I heard about Defense-​ability from a friend who had attended their safety awareness class, so I signed us up for both of their classes.
I can’t tell you how happy I am that we took the classes. Rebecca and Jill are excellent instructors, and talk about self defense in a way that makes it both fun and informational. We learned about avoiding bad situations, and how to defend ourselves against attacks. I also loved the physical training class. It’s only a few moves, but they’re easy to remember and very effective. They also gave us a printout so that we can re-​read the information, and practice the self defense moves at home.
Very satisfied with their service and would recommend them to everyone.

I attended the Defense-​ability class on a Saturday morning at the Billy DeFrank LGBT Center. It was a great reminder that when you least expect it, you can be faced with a fight or flight situation, and Rebecca and Jill provide you with the knowledge that can save your life!
Rebecca and Jill are professional, empathetic, and incredibly knowledgeable. I felt comfortable asking questions and getting the answers I needed i.e.) «should you yell fire when physically confronted»? They applied real life examples and situations, and techniques that will get you out of them.
–What you should be aware of when shopping this season and walking through parking lots with your arms full.
–How to practice your fight or flight plan so that in the situation you have to use it, you are clear-​headed and READY!
–DON’T rely on defense moves you see in the movies… Rebecca and Jill will teach you the proper, REALISTIC moves that can immobilize or at least distance yourself from an attacker.
They also offer defense items for sale AND teach you how to use these tools, what your rights are when using them, etc.
I plan on taking my mother and aunts to an upcoming class. Taking this class reaffirmed to me that awareness and prevention skills are key; the reactive skills they taught were absolute gold, and though I hope I never have to use them, I know that I’m not helpless.
Rebecca and Jill, THANK YOU for empowering others!