Category: News and Features

I’ve wanted to attend a women’s self-defense class for years, but was hesitant to actually register and go through with it for a few reasons. My resistance stemmed from the instructors I saw offering the classes. No shade to any particular instructor or school, but I had a real worry of being stuck in a class with an instructor who’d bark orders similar to a drill sergeant, or someone who would make me feel less than if I wasn’t able to physically do the moves or pick them up right away. And as a woman, I don’t think I’m alone in those feelings.

When I was approached by Timothy Fancher, owner of American Street Edge, a self-defense school in St. Clair, about attending a women’s self-defense seminar in exchange for writing an article about my experience, I immediately said yes.

This past spring I connected with Tim to write an article about the school, which opened in March of this year. During our initial conversation it was evident he had a calm demeanor and loads of expertise (he’s got 40 years in martial arts, and is a fourth-degree black belt in American Kenpo Karate). Immediately following our initial interview in March, I was able to stick around and watch him teach a group of kids. 

Part of being a writer is being an observer and after 20 years as a journalist, I’d like to think I’m pretty darn good at observing people. When I watched Tim teach a class full of elementary school aged kids I noticed that he’s not just a patient instructor, but that he also had a way of explaining the techniques and strikes to kids that were relatable and easy to understand. 

Now that I’ve been a part of the women’s self-defense seminar I can see that Tim instructs adults in the same way. The difference in his instruction comes down to multiple factors: his diverse professional background and martial arts experience, years of real street defense, and his distinctive, academic approach to guiding students on ways to manage fear, and together, these elements help make up the American Street Edge system that Tim has developed.

The seminar is a mix of physical self-defense techniques and verbal instruction – and the two modalities work hand in hand, explained using real-life scenarios, that will help you gain not only practical skills, but the “why” behind the techniques.  Since you’re using those movements, either with a partner or on the school’s self-defense dummies Bob and Ivan, you start to build muscle memory right in the seminar through repetition. 

And, because not all forms of self-defense are physical, there were several instances where Tim helped us all understand steps to not only stay calm, but how to stop certain scenarios quickly. One such instance is how to stop a verbal bully in their tracks. As far too many of us have experienced, bullying isn’t something that stops at the playground. Today people are bullied online and in their workplace, among other places, and during the verbal portion of the seminar, we learned a simple yet effective method to stop a workplace bully before the situation takes a toll on your mental or physical well-being.

I learned a ton that evening and even though I was in a group of seven other women, six I’d never met before (my sister attended with me), I instantly felt comfortable. Here’s a run down of the things I learned in the 2.5 hour class:

• Multiple techniques to defend myself in a variety of scenarios 
• How to carry myself so I don’t look like a victim
• Ways to increase my environmental awareness
• How to shut down a conversation with “twitchy strangers” that may approach me in a public place
• Practical ways to be “better at violence” than those who might want to do me harm
• An easy breakdown of the techniques I learned and an explanation of how to practice them at home, like using a wall for a certain move to make sure I’m keeping proper form
• A verbal method to shut down a bully, while remaining composed and respectful
• Bonus – channeling my inner improv skills (and mean girl) by being selected to be the “workplace bully” in a toxic workplace scenario 

I can’t stress enough the amount of skills and knowledge that’s presented to attendees in the seminar and the incredible value offered. There are plans for additional women’s self-defense classes this fall, so be sure to follow American Street Edge on Facebook to learn more about any upcoming seminars. In addition, there are weekly, no contract adult classes, and you can even take a trial class first to be sure it’s a good fit, so you have nothing to lose. Find the schedules for all the classes offered along with other helpful information on the American Street Edge Facebook page. The school is also offering a variety of freebies the week of Aug. 24-28, 2026, details on the free offerings are outlined in this post.