A big turnout to a self-defense class for women isn’t something I’d expect to see, but last Monday, a Krav Maga educational event drew over one hundred frum women and girls to Midwood, Brooklyn, for a series of educational speeches on situational awareness, followed by a demo by trained instructors for the non-profit organization Chai Defense.
Co-founder Jeff Schindler started training people after Oct. 7th; since then, the non-profit has grown to about 20 classes a week. The organization, started by a group of people who all already had full-time jobs, is exactly the kind of community-building, passionate, knowledgeable mix you’d expect it to be. Schindler started the evening by introducing 10th grade high-schooler Estie Weinstock to recite Tehillim on behalf of the crowd, and continued to emcee as he introduced his co-founders with true respect and admiration.
Co-founder Erica Yakabzon conveyed some crucial prefacing messages to the crowd of women spanning three generations. “There is this misconception that we want to debunk – as part of our mission and goal of Chai Defense – that you need to be some sort of an expert [or] have experience in martial arts.”
Their main objective is to nurture awareness and confidence within the Jewish community, and educate members on basic self-defensive strategies, so that if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, these skills will already be second-nature.
Whether that’s commuting on public transportation in broad daylight or walking down a dark alley (hint: avoid the dark alley), we each have a responsibility to ourselves to be aware of our surroundings, and, yes, a little on the defensive, all the time.
Unfortunately, there are targets everywhere, to those who want to find one. As brusque as it might seem, you want that target to be somebody else – and so does Chai Defense. That means not being or looking vulnerable, and projecting confidence, even when you know you’re not the strongest one in the room. As Yakabzon put it, “You’re not looking for a fight, you’re looking to avoid an unpleasant situation.”
Another co-founder, Julie, shared some of her thoughts on getting into the self-defense scene. Despite the shocking and horrific nature of Oct. 7th, “what was even more shocking, as someone living in America, is the complete hatred and the complete response that we received for our pain in the Jewish community.”
Prior to Oct. 7th, when asked if she wanted to learn any sort of martial arts or self-defense, Julie’s stark refusal rested on this claim: “No, I’m a peaceful person. I like to do other things that maybe don’t involve fighting.” This was such a poignant reflection of the attitude reflected in many parts of the Jewish community. We are an inherently peaceful people, whose only decision to pick up guns or fists would be in defense against those who rise toward us. But, Julie continued, “We do have to stay strong and we have to be vigilant. And we can be both. We can be peaceful and we can be strong.”
For women, this can be an even bigger necessity, as Julie told me later: “if you’re a frum woman, to anyone else, you look like a victim. And if you know what you’re doing, you have that second of surprise.”
As a non-profit, Chai Defense can’t take a political stance in the elections that took place this past week (results came in after The Jewish Press went to print). But they welcomed Councilwoman Inna Vernikov to the event warmly, describing her advocacy for the fierce protection of the Jewish community as laudable and unique in the face of the 800% rise in antisemitic violence and hate-crimes in New York City.
Having personally funded and trained in self-defense classes such as those of Chai Defense, Vernikov spoke to the crowd eloquently, describing her emotions as two-fold; on the one hand, she is happy that an organization like Chai Defense exists to give people that confidence in their ability to withstand an unwanted attack. “But also, it’s a little scary to see an interest in self-defense in the United States of America in 2025…we’re all watching it, and we’re all seeing it.”
Ruchie Weinstock, vice president of the Marine Park Jewish Center and JCC of Marine Park’s Woman of the Year, followed Vernikov in expressing her vision of the movement for self-defense: “It’s about being aware, being prepared, and standing strong as a community….I hope everyone walks away tonight, not just learning the techniques, but being more aware and prepared and empowered.”
Next taking the stage was Sensei Thomas Casale, master instructor who has competed in five world championships, and trains FBI, CIA, and police officers in situational awareness, threat assessment, and conflict resolution, skills that he now teaches to the Jewish community.
“Brooklyn is the home to the highest concentration of Jews outside of Israel. So logic and intelligence clearly shows us that attacks will be coming to Brooklyn,” he said, going on to educate the group about situational awareness and threat levels, from letting down your guard at home, being on alert, and the most intense: if someone is approaching you with serious intent to harm.
“We react by what we see, what we hear, and what we feel. If you’re looking at your phone, you’re not seeing what’s happening. If you have headphones in, you’re not hearing what’s happening. You took out two out of the three senses that would alert you. All you have left is what you feel. And that could be a punch or a grab. It’s too late.
“[The police] can’t always be there for you. You are alone!” he bellowed at the crowd, and, though jolting, it was a message we needed to hear.
Police involvement was something touched upon by a few different speakers, specifically, the police department’s inability to fight the rise in attacks in New York. Vernikov herself asserted, “We are all being supported [by] our NYPD. But unfortunately, they cannot be everywhere, and things happen…So it’s really important that we take our safety into our own hands.”
Casale went on to describe how potential attackers surveil and watch carefully for predictable routines, finding the holes and weak spots in them so they are effective in inflicting damage. “When they get the routine down, that’s when they will launch an attack.” We need to sharpen our minds, pay attention, and use resources at hand to prevent life-threatening outcomes.
After the speakers it was time for a demonstration, and a rush of chairs being pushed against the walls transitioned the group of women and girls into this portion of the evening, led by Casale.
“Stance is very important because it allows you to move and to be stable when you have to,” Casale began, instructing on how to stand defensively.
Depending on whether you are right- or left-handed, you put your dominant leg one natural step back, giving you stability and distance from an attacker. He showed the group when and how to bring your hands up and step back, warning someone entering your personal space to back off. If that person still advances, he continued, both hands are used to make contact and tell the person to stop. He then advanced to blocking strategies, stressing the importance of never dropping your hands in an altercation, so that there is something between you and the danger. The use of physical contact lets the attacker know you aren’t an easy target.
“If anybody enters your personal space that much…either they know you and they love you, or they’re approaching you for nefarious reasons. There’s nothing in between, by the way,” he added, drawing laughs from the crowd.
If an altercation escalates, he emphasized, “never allow an opponent to attack you a second time. Once you throw that punch, your reaction has to be right away. Instantaneous – there’s no waiting. You don’t want to hit him and, like, admire your work, right?”
These various light-hearted jokes were welcome during the more intense portion of the evening, when concept became reality. I saw it on several women’s faces: the moment when you no longer see the empty air hanging in front of you and your arms raised defensively, but a darkened subway station and a faceless adversary.
The demo also provided some necessary mental skills. In an adverse encounter with an attacker, adrenaline may alter your state of mind. Casale had the group focused on the moment in between a first and second attack: “For just a moment, you have superhuman strength. You’re faster, you’re stronger, you’re superman. But then you get the shakes, your knees get a little wobbly, you’re nervous, and now it’s harder to fight. Get around that – respond instantly so that doesn’t grip you.”
The crowd then broke into groups of ten to practice the advised open-palm strikes with trained instructors holding hand targets. Chai Defense made sure to offer male and female instructors to practice with so that every patron felt comfortable.
After the demo, as the evening wrapped up, circles formed as conversation flowed between attendees and instructors alike.
One attendee of the event was a college-age young woman who previously lived in the dorms at Rutgers and has since moved off of campus. She said, “I’ve seen the protests all day, every day…I specifically wear [a Jewish star]. I’ve had some of my classmates stop talking to me. Some of my friends have had it pretty bad. They [have] been provoked, bullied…professors bullying them as well.”
One of the instructors, Lawrence – who has trained in jiu-jitsu and judo in the past, and since 2017, Krav Maga – spoke to me about how peacefulness and learning to fight are not contradictions, a sentiment reflected in Chai Defense’s slogan, Peace Through Strength.
As a community, our first instinct isn’t to fight. “Why can’t we just talk to them?” Lawrence quipped. “You could be living a peaceful life, but as soon as…you can’t protect yourself, you’re no longer peaceful. You’re a bystander.” Peacefulness at the cost of standing, helpless, while you or someone else is attacked, isn’t something the Jewish community can afford in the current climate.
When someone is trained in self-defense, or even with a weapon, they make the choice to be peaceful at every moment.
That philosophy of peace was exuded by the spirit of the team behind Chai Defense, as Lawrence continued, “Chai Defense was born of something terrible, but it has become such a family of good; I mean, just the best people I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve met so many amazing people through this organization…We’re a family. We’re always talking. Always seeing each other. Always brainstorming.”
Most importantly, the event was necessary to plant a seed in people’s minds. Sitting there, listening to the speeches and watching the demonstration of some beginner Krav Maga, I couldn’t help but think, “This is something I can do.” It was a quiet, solid shift, a small, burrowing seed that, however planted, would mean our community would be one step closer to becoming safer.
For those interested in planting, watering, and pruning that seed, Chai Defense is offering an introductory special of four months of training for $199, starting next week. Maybe you’ll see me there.
In the words of Ruchie Weinstock, “Stay aware, stay safe, and most of all, stay proud of who you are.”
