Women's Self-Defense Seminars

Alongside his school talks, Leonardo hosts a free annual women’s self-defense seminar through Word in the Hood at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia. What began as a four-week seminar is now an annual event — four weeks of training built around a single objective: survival and escape, so every woman who walks in walks back out to the people she loves.

Leonardo Lechuga teaching the women’s self-defense seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia

About the Seminar

The seminar follows the progression of a real attack. It starts with situational awareness — recognizing danger before it turns physical — then boundaries and distance, frames to create space, striking and physical resistance, and finally ground survival: what to do if an attacker takes you down, and how to get back to your feet and get away. Experienced martial artists assist with instruction, and the physical skills are taught responsibly — but the goal is never to win a fight. The goal is to survive long enough to escape and get home.

Taught for Survival, Not Sport

When I designed this seminar, I made something clear from the beginning: I am not here to teach you martial arts in four weeks. I’m here to teach you about survival. There is no possible way to turn someone into a proficient martial artist in four weeks — but there are things we can teach in four weeks that may help someone survive a dangerous encounter.

On the first day, before teaching a single physical technique, I asked every woman in the room to close her eyes and picture what she loved most in this world — her children, her family, whatever mattered enough that she absolutely had to make it home that night. Then I asked her to consider what she might be willing to do to get back to those people. That is the foundation of this seminar. Not how to win a fight. What are you willing to do to survive?

I refuse to sell false confidence. When someone suggested handing out certificates at the end of the seminar, my answer was immediate: a certificate saying what — that four weeks made you certified in self-defense? Absolutely not. Nobody leaves believing she’s invincible. She leaves understanding her options: awareness, avoidance, verbal boundaries, escape, physical resistance — and the limits of each.

“My objective isn’t to produce another martial artist. It’s to help someone get home.”

— Leonardo Lechuga

Read Leonardo’s full article on why he teaches the seminar this way:
Martial Arts, Self-Defense, and the Will to Survive

First Annual Seminar

Photos from the first annual seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy.

Leonardo Lechuga demonstrating a defensive position while participants watch

Leonardo Lechuga explaining awareness and boundaries to seminar participants

Leonardo Lechuga instructing a line of participants during the seminar

Participants gathered around Leonardo Lechuga during the women’s self-defense seminar

Demonstrating a defense against being choked against a wall

Leonardo Lechuga demonstrating a wall defense with a seminar participant

Demonstrating how to escape from being pinned against a wall

Leonardo Lechuga demonstrating a defense against a throat grab

Instructors demonstrating wrist control in the center of the mat

Leonardo Lechuga coaching two participants through a wrist-grab escape

An assistant instructor teaching a wrist-grab escape to participants

Participants practicing wrist-grab escapes together

Participants practicing ground defense with instructor guidance

Demonstrating ground defense, using frames and legs to create space

Participants practicing how to get back to their feet safely

1 / 15

Click a photo or use the arrows to look through all 15 photos — the slideshow also advances on its own.

Second Annual Seminar

Photos from the second annual seminar.

Seminar participants gathered on the blue mats at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia, during a women’s self-defense seminar led by Leonardo Lechuga

Women practice ground techniques in pairs on the blue mats during a women’s self-defense seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia

Leonardo Lechuga leads instruction during a women’s self-defense seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia

Women in Women’s Self Defense Seminar shirts stand together at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia, during a seminar with Leonardo Lechuga

Participants in Women’s Self Defense Seminar shirts watch a ground demonstration during a women’s self-defense seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia

Participants practice together during a women’s self-defense seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia

Women line up along the padded wall on the blue mats during a women’s self-defense seminar at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton, Georgia

1 / 7

Click a photo or use the arrows to look through all 7 photos — the slideshow also advances on its own.

Bring This Seminar to Your Group

The free seminar is the annual one, held at North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy in Dalton. If your church, school, workplace, or women’s group wants the seminar brought to you, that is a paid booking, arranged the same as any other speaking event. The seminar runs four weeks — or it can be done in a two-day weekend. For dates and fees, use the booking form on the Speaking page, email leonardo@wordinthehood.com, or call (630) 301-1743.