GHSD was developed from actual Law Enforcement training and field experience. Gig Harbor Self Defense opened their doors in Gig Harbor on January 6th, 2024. Although they are new to the area, they are not new to the training world. GHSD is a proud founding member of the RHINO Tactical Defense organization. RHINO is the leading brand in reality-based, self defense training, with curriculum written by a robust group of current and former law enforcement officers, military professionals, police academy instructors, martial arts experts and credentialed and seasoned self defense school owners.
Police officers physically engage criminals on a daily basis. This means what works and what doesn’t work gets filtered through in real-time. Law Enforcement agencies continually enhance their skills and training based on what is most effective in real-world situations against criminals of all types. RHINO Tactical Defense continually upgrades and enhances its curriculum by attending and participating in Law Enforcement field training events and on-duty patrol activities.
About Your Gig Harbor Self Defense Instructor
Gig harbor Self Defense is a locally owned and operated business, run by Gig Harbor resident, Theresa Norris.
Theresa is a certified self-defense and kickboxing instructor. As a mom of 3 little ones, she knew how much of a target she was when out and about alone with her kids. After the birth of her twins, she felt scared and unsure she’d be able to defend herself or her family if she was ever attacked. She began seeking out self defense classes and was bummed that nothing in Gig Harbor existed unless she wanted to sign up for martial art classes and spend months (even years) learning defense. That just wouldn’t do! She wanted training NOW! So, she sought out training to not just learn self-defense, but to bring it to her community and neighbors. Her goal was to help everyone in Gig Harbor and the surrounding areas know how to properly and successfully defend themselves.
Theresa is part of the RHINO Tactical Defense team. RHINO is a team of seasoned self-defense instructors, current and former law enforcement officers, military and martial arts experts. Their mission is to empower individuals of all ages with accessible, real-world solutions to help you feel prepared and secure in any situation. Theresa and the GHSD team’s extensive knowledge and training shows that you do not need to be law enforcement, military, or a martial artist to be able to defend yourself. Anyone, any age, any gender, any level, any experience can do this and do it well!
She hopes to see you in class and to show you that self-defense is for everyone and not just a select few. She is so confident in the material and training that all her classes are back by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
HOW DO I ASSESS A SELF DEFENSE PROGRAM?
The average person spends very little time in their life reviewing self-defense or martial arts programs. You may buy in to a program that has no basis in real world self-defense because “you don’t know what you don’t know”.
Here are 3 red flags that a program may not be reality-based.
- They do pre-rehearsed self-defense demos. For instance, they’ll have a woman being attacked and as she kicks and punches the attackers, they drop like flies all around her.
Gig Harbor Self-Defense never does pre-rehearsed demos. We will pull someone from the audience who we may have never met to help illustrate the reality of the point we’re trying to make.
- They demonstrate a child kicking and punching an adult male until he drops, defeated. This will never happen.
Kids can’t fight their way out of the grasp of a determined adult criminal the way most people think.
- The demonstrating attacker holds his or her punch out and stands still while the defense is being executed.
In martial arts, this is called “One Step Sparring” and it is often passed off as self-defense. It is not.
The Gig Harbor Self Defense system is truly one of a kind. GHSD uses a variety of teaching formats to help students learn self-defense fast. Our law enforcement skill sets are the same as those taught in the Police Academy, so you know that they are tried and true.
Gig Harbor Self Defense 