When close friend Shannon McNamara was murdered while fighting off an attacker in 2001, Erin Weed became inspired to help women protect themselves. Now two years later, Weed’s organization, Girls Fight Back, empowers women and helps them to live safer, stronger lives. Weed achieves these goals through visits to college campuses and by offering classes such as one being held June 28 in Hoboken.
“I really never thought it would get this big,” said Weed, executive director and founder of Girls Fight Back. “But it shows that the world really needed something like this.”
Weed attended Eastern Illinois University. After graduating with a degree in communications, she moved to New York where she landed a job as a TV producer. It was at this time, when Weed learned of her friend’s struggle and subsequent murder, that she decided to teach women how to defend and protect themselves.
The three-hour interactive class she leads is broken up into three parts. The first is a discussion about prevention techniques, especially those specific to Hoboken residents. Weed will inform women on how to arm themselves and their homes.
Part two is a discussion of how to be aware of the signals that danger may be following you. “I talk about training for the fear signal and trusting yourself and your intuition,” said Weed.
Added Weed, “The discussion parts of the class allow other women to tell their stories and is just a group of women talking.”
The class concludes with instruction and practice of basic fighting tools and techniques, with a focus on standing and ground fighting skills.
“I always say that the best fight is the fight never fought,” Weed said. “But that isn’t always possible, so the class can give women the basic skills to protect themselves.”
As Weed developed the class, she geared the program towards empowering women and not making them afraid. Self-defense, she noted, does not have to be scary.
The class will be held on at 720 Monroe St., Suite C 504 on June 28 from 1:30 -4:30 p.m. The cost of registration is $40 for first-time attendees and $20 for college students and those who have previously taken Weed’s classes. For more information or to register for the class, contact Abby at Girls Fight Back at (201) 222-3900.