ORIGINS
The driving force behind Fight Like a GRRRL Club (FLAG) emerged from the devastation we endured as a community in the search for a missing young woman from Nelson County in 2013, Alexis Tiara Murphy. In search of a way to help, martial Arts instructors Sally Rose & Joshua Copson chose to put their skills to use by offering self-defense classes.
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FLAG was officially founded in 2018 and received 501c3 nonprofit status in 2019. We travel regionally to host free pop up workshops that offer real-life self defense training and education. With self defense techniques and strategies that are simple, efficient and effective, it is our goal to empower folks and awaken their indomitable spirit.
MISSION
We strive to empower people with the ability to protect their physical and emotional well-being through intersectional feminist self-defense education, with a focus on accessibility, inclusivity, and community resilience. Our instruction includes de-escalation and avoidance techniques, strategies for mildly aggressive situations, and survival self defense skills, to prepare students for any situation they may encounter, from uncomfortable to life-threatening.
We focus on helping vulnerable populations and survivors of assault, but we welcome all people into our classes. Looking forward, our goal is to expand access by building a network of trained instructors statewide, ensuring self-defense education is available to all, regardless of identity or income.
VISION
We envision a world where everyone can walk without fear. Through free, inclusive workshops, we teach boundary-setting, de-escalation, and self-defense while challenging the culture that discourages people — especially women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ communities — from saying no or fighting back. We firmly believe that self defense education should be for all people, regardless of income level or resources. We provide traveling, pop-up workshops across central Virginia, with hopes to expand on the horizon. Can’t afford training? Our classes are FREE. Don’t have a means of transportation? Tell us where you are, we’ll build a workshop in your hometown. Our workshops are a safe space for all gender identities and expressions.
Our goal is to help create a world in which everyone can walk without fear.