Empowerment Self Defense & The Saints Girls Academy
Soccer Teams can be dynamic spaces where girls' empowerment comes into focus. One such club here in Portland is The Saints Girls Academy. I was privileged to teach two of their age groups (the 15/16 year-olds and the 11, 12 & 13 year-olds). Their transformation...
What’s the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors?
The symbol of the art that I train, Poekoelan, is a rose. We are told that each of us is unique and beautiful, but if you grab us, we have thorns. I’ve always loved this imagery. There are the sweet little buds holding infinite hope and promise, the young blossoms...
Words from a Grateful Mom
Short version: Send your kids here. Especially if they’re girls. Medium version: The school is not competitive, there’s no lockstep testing schedule, no tournaments; it’s just all about inner and outer strength, what each person can achieve, and being the best you...
Teaching Violence, and Control, to Children
Listen Up! This is a piece by National Public Radio about our sister school, Studio Naga in Oakland, CA, first published in 2006 but still relevant today. We teach our students how to hit - and hit hard! And with that ability to protect oneself comes an imense...
So, you think there is an ethics, safety, or abuse problem at your martial arts school or within your system?
Because of the hierarchical system, the power dynamics, and the focus on loyalty and obedience, martial arts schools have the potential to create cultures with ethics violations, dubious behaviors, and questionable principles. Martial arts schools are not alone in...
Silvia Smart Certified Empowerment Self Defense Instructor
What is the National Women's Martial Arts Federation? The NWMAF is dedicated to promoting the involvement and empowerment of women and girls—cis and trans/non-binary/gender non-conforming person—who are active in martial arts, self-defense, and healing arts. Their...
The Indonesian Breathing Form
What is The Indonesian Breathing Form? This form combines a series of movements with specific breathing techniques designed to strengthen your lungs, core, and overall health and wellness. Interested? Let us know and we'll teach it to you! Tell Me About This Video? In...
The Joys of Selfless Service
Reposted from January, 2012 What's “Selfless Service”?Poekoelan is a traditional martial art. One of the things we learn as students is how important it is to be able to put our own ego and needs aside and focus our loving energy on others. In practicing this, we...
AWMAI – The Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors
Above: AWMAI 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees (L to R) Master Sensei Lisa Frazer, Jamie Leno Zimron Sensei and Goeroe Silvia SmartTeaching the TeacherThe Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors was founded to empower advanced women martial artists via paths of...
Goeroe Dee – Finding Her Tribe
By Mas Sarah as part of their Second Degree Black Belt Test “It’s So Good” “Training a martial art, especially long term training, is so good for people. It’s so good. You have such a wide experience. You get a community that doesn’t leave you. And you grow, with...
What’s Up with The Empowerment Project?
Is The Empowerment Project New?Yes! It is! Our self-defense programs and workshops have always been super high quality. But with the work we have done to get nationally certified, it was time to up our game and let the world know we have reinvigorated our commitment...
The Rose
The Rose of PoekoelanThe symbol of Poekoelan is a red rose lying on a black background with bamboo on either side. The rose is beautiful yet if you grab it, it has thorns. The bamboo symbolizes the flexibility we strive for in body, mind and spirit. In a heavy...
Corporate Global Zoom Training | Splunk
The Workshops Throughout the pandemic, I've had the opportunity to teach quarterly workshops for the Splunk team. We started off with basic self-defense classes and moved on to provide de-escalation workshops, courses on bystander intervention, and combinations of...
Corporate Active Shooter Survival Training | AAA
AAA is a Company that Cares About its Team My grandfather, was a member of the American Automobile Association (AAA) as far back as I can remember. Road trips with him meant thumbing through “TripTiks”, a very cool mapping system, provided by AAA. Someone literally...
Corporate Self Defense | Dr. Martens USA HQ
The InvitationThe Human Resources department at Dr. Martens USA Headquarters asked us to teach a three-part self-defense and de-escalation workshop. Here is what they had to say about it:Dear Future Naga Partners, Successful businesses create engagement through...
Operation Backpack!
What is it? Naga is collaborating with the FBI CAAA to donate 200+ backpacks to 6th, 7th and 8th-grade students in the Parkrose School District. Some of you remember our participation in this project last year. We were able to provide 75 backpacks, but there were over...
Corporate Self Defense | HDR Engineering
Our MissionOver the years, we have been honored to work with many companies in the Portland Metro Area. They have invited us onsite to teach self-defense, de-escalation and empowerment techniques to their teams. These courses focus on basic skills and information with...
Corporate Self Defense | Property Management
Our Mission One aspect of our mission at Naga is to reach out into the broader community. Over the years, many companies have invited us onsite to teach self-defense, de-escalation and empowerment techniques to their teams. These courses focus on basic skills and...
