Ep 7: Why do women need a self-defense class when they have a man or mace? with Demetra Bradley

In this episode, Sabrina Shine Williams, host of Shine Bright with Sabrina, interviews Demetra Bradley, CEO of Foxy Defense and Protection, LLC.

Demetra answers the question “Why do women need a self-defense class when they have a man or mace?”

She teaches women how to physically, mentally, and emotionally protect themselves through self-defense. Her goal is for women to increase their confidence by teaching them how to be PREPARED, not scared!

Check out the full Video Episode: https://youtu.be/tsH-24I1k2U 

Follow Demetra at …

Email - [e-mail] 

Website - https://www.foxydefensepro.com/ 

LinkedIn - Demetra Bradley

YT - @FoxyDefensePro

IG - @FoxyDefensePro

FB - @FoxyDefensePro

She just started her YT channel and will be posting soon! Subscribe to know when her first episode drops!

Follow the host of Shine Bright with Sabrina on all social media platforms @SabrinaShineWilliams | Instagram | YouTube | Tiktok

Email: [e-mail]  

https://www.instagram.com/sabrinashinewilliams/  

https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinashinewilliams

Stay inspired, stay connected, and until next time, keep shining bright! Remember together we shine brighter! 

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Feel free to apply or recommend guests who are empowering, educating, and uplifting! tinyurl.com/podcastrecommendation

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Why do women need self-defense classes
when they have a man or either Mace?
Welcome back to another episode of Shine
Welcome back to another episode
Bright with Sabrina. And I'm your host,
Sabrina Shine Williams. And today we're
going to answer that question on why
women need self-defense
lessons and I am going to bring

(00:27):
on an expert that can help us with
that. And her name is
Demetria Bradley. Say hello
to the listeners. Hello everybody.
Yes, let me tell you a little bit about
her. Demetria is the CEO of
Foxy Defense and Protection, LLC,
where she teaches women how

(00:49):
to physically, mentally, and
emotionally protect themselves through
self-defense. Her goal is for women to
increase their confidence by teaching
them how to be prepared. Not
scared, OK?That's
right, That is right. Tell
us a little bit about yourself.

(01:10):
Well, what most people don't know is that
I am also a army veteran like yourself
and I am a full time law
enforcement professional. So I'm a police
officer and I got my
start with self-defense in the army with
combatives and learning all of that.
There was like, OK, that's kind of cool.
And then went on to be a police officer

(01:33):
and I began working at our police
Academy, started taking jiu jitsu and
cross from a guy and other forms of
martial arts. And I was like, OK, I think
I can do this a little more regularly.
But it wasn't until I had an
encounter with a lady who was in a
domestic violence situation. And
as a patrol officer, I went to her house.

(01:55):
She asked for help. Of course, that's
what we're there to do. Removed from the
situation. We helped her to get to her
shelter, her, her children in. About a
couple weeks later, we went to that same
shelter for something completely
different and she ran up to me and she
was like, Officer Bradley, Officer
Bradley. And I was just like, 'cause, you
know, you don't run up on police, so.

(02:17):
I was like, hey.
And she told me who she was. She was
like, do you remember taking me, me and
my children to the shelter? And I was
like, oh, I do remember. And she said,
because of you, I'm able to get some
housing. So we're going to move into our
own apartment soon. And I got a job, and
my kids are happier. And so I was like,

(02:40):
oh, my gosh, that that made me
feel I know, a certain kind of way.
And so I was telling my husband about it.
And he was like, well, there's only one
thing for you to do about it. And I'm
like. What? He
said. You just gotta open a business.
What?
OK. Well, let's see how we do this. And

(03:00):
so that's where the, the business was
formed is from all of those encounters
and then that one particular encounter
that stuck with me. So I said I want to
have that impact on women on a consistent
basis and here we are.
Yes, yes, yes. Because we do. We do need
more than a man or Mace.

(03:21):
Absolutely.
Baby, we don't need no man. We don't
need no maids either.
What do we need? What do we need? Tell
me. Tell me what you what we need.
We need to be able to trust
ourselves, to trust our instinct

(03:43):
and be able to perform
when something happens. So, have you
heard of fight or flight?
OK, so sometimes that'll kick in to
where it's like my my senses are
heightened and. I don't know if I should
stay here and fight or if I should run or
I don't know what to do to protect

(04:04):
myself. So do I stand here and and
hit with a fist or hit with the closest,
the open hand, Do I kick in a growing or
what do I do to? All of these thoughts
are going through your head. What we need
is some self-defense training because you
need to learn something that is quick,
that is effective and that's going to get
you the safety as quickly as possible.

(04:26):
So self-defense is where that comes
into play. That makes a lot of
sense and I guess because of the
military, my military background,
I never really thought about it that way.
But that's basically what they were
teaching us.
Absolutely. That's that's what I learned
as well. And it

(04:47):
helped with the business part of it
because not everybody wants to know how
to be a police officer. So when I was an
instructor at the police Academy
and then I opened the business at the
same time. I had to do this
with this on and off switch,
OK? These are women

(05:07):
who want to know how to protect
themselves in a everyday
setting, not women who are
wanting to protect themselves as a police
officer. So I feel like my
particular classes are unique because I
do have the experience behind me, but I
also come in as a woman, as a mother, as
a wife, as somebody who

(05:29):
is. Always distracted with little
people. Like I have a three-
year old and a four month old, so it's
sometimes distracting to figure out how
do I get in my car safely and make sure
that I'm looking around that nobody is
going to hit me in the head and push me
in the car or something like that. So
these are things that I think about, that

(05:49):
I talk about in my classes. So that's a
unique perspective that I bring. But
most people don't think about self-
defense, they think about martial arts
and there's a difference. Well, what's
the difference? What's the difference?
Well, martial arts is a combative sport.
So like with even though I
practice jiu jitsu, I'm just going to use

(06:10):
it as an example. But jiu jitsu, you're
on the floor, you start out on your knees
and there's a timer. There's somebody
there telling you want to stop, want to
go and then you're tapping out.
But in real life, for self-defense,
we're not, we're not tapping out. There's
no timer, there's nobody saying stop and
go. So even though some of the tactics

(06:30):
that you learn in martial arts are
effective, I'm not gonna be.
Roundhouse kicking somebody in the
middle of the street that's trying to
kidnap me or right near something like
that. So you know, Taekwondo or Karate
may not be the best practice
of a military or a martial arts in
that instance. Makes sense, Makes

(06:53):
sense, Makes sense. So what
are some tips or some
recommendations that you can give the
listeners? OK, so I'm going to
give you 3 reasons why women need self-
defense. The reason
#1, Like I said
earlier, we are distracted. So when we

(07:13):
are distracted, we're going to the
grocery store. We are in parking
garages and parking lots. We need
to remain vigilant of what's
around us. Where are we parking our cars?
How late is it that I'm walking in this
parking garage? Do I have any hands
available to protect myself in
case somebody runs up on me? And so those

(07:36):
are things to think about. Do I have a
weapon available?Some people do not feel
comfortable with a gun, but they may feel
comfortable with Mace, or they may feel
comfortable with. A
stun gun or a key chain, you
know how people used to say back in the
day, they will put your keys in between
your finger like that and walk, you know?

(07:58):
So we may feel comfortable with some
other weapon of opportunity,
but we need to know how to use it.
So that is one thing is if we're
distracted. We need to know how to
be undistracted, but pay attention at the
same time of what's around us and use
what we have available. So #2

(08:18):
is women are taught to be seen and
not heard. That's just something
that we've always.
Been around. So I remember being a little
girl and my momma saying, you know, we go
to my granny house or somebody's house,
make sure you're sitting there being
quiet, You know, put you

(08:38):
pull your dress down, cross your legs and
be polite. And that's like the stuff.
Excuse me. Sometimes when we have these
classes, I get some women that are coming
and they're ready to hit the dummy. And
when they hit the dummy, they go, I'm so
sorry. And it's like, no, no, no. What do
you apologizing for? And that's the first

(08:58):
instinct is we're nurturers, we're
not aggressors. And so we have to learn
to be aggressive. We have to learn to
find our verbal boundaries, to tell
somebody to back up, to leave me alone.
To do things like that. So you need a
self-defense class for for that purpose
as well. And then the third reason that

(09:19):
we need a self-defense class is my motto,
being prepared and not scared. So it's
empowerment. It's building confidence.
It's knowing that, OK, in the instance
that this does happen, I am physically,
mentally and emotionally available
to do what needs to be done to protect
myself, my offspring, my family, my

(09:41):
mom, you know, my sister, whatever the
case may be. So just being empowered
and having the skills. I
know when I feel confident about myself,
I'll walk with my head held high, my
shoulders back. I'm making eye contact
with everybody. Try me. Try me if you
want to. You know, that's the perception
that I have. But I really don't want to

(10:02):
fight. But I need you to
know that if I'm looking at you, I
see you seeing me. So that means I can
pick you out of a lineup.
Some of our.
Yeah, I saw the aha moment right there. I
was, I was watching a a show on like a

(10:24):
criminal investigation on the CI channel
and they were interviewing a guy that was
a serial ******. And so one of the
questions was, well, how did you pick
your victims? And he said, well, I picked
them based off on if they spoke to me or
not.
If they spoke to you or not, what does
that mean? And in his mind, if

(10:44):
they spoke to him, they looked at him,
they recognized him, and so they were
able to pick him out of a lineup. For the
women that walked with their head down,
looking at their feet or distracted on
their phones or not paying attention to
what was around them, he was able to use
the sneak attacks and get them

(11:04):
like this before they even realized that
something happened. So.
Making something as simple as making eye
contact with somebody and speaking to
them can stop you from being a
victim of a crime.
That right there was worth the admission
of this whole.

(11:29):
This feel like a therapy session right
here. Not writing. I'm
learning some good stuff. Wow, this is
amazing. So let me ask you
this, what piece of advice you would give
your younger self?
My younger son shine bright.
Just my younger self would be

(11:51):
just to do it, be like Nike
and just do it.
That is what I would tell my younger self
to shine bright. Because I was
shy and I felt
like because my skin was a darker color,
because I had glasses from the age of
four and people called me

(12:11):
Myrtle Urkel and Sally Jesse
Raphael and 'cause I had the red ones
baby, I was cute, so.
Yes, and those type of
names. I felt like I
don't want to be seen. I don't want to be
heard. And I don't want to do what brings
me into the forefront where people see me

(12:33):
because I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed
with my glasses. I'm embarrassed that I'm
a darker, darker shade than my best
friend and my best friend's friends and
that type of stuff or I'm clumsy. So I
didn't play a lot of sports and you know,
that type of stuff. So I would just say.
Don't worry about what anybody thinks of
you. Only worry about what you think of

(12:53):
you. Have some positive affirmations and
be like Nike and just do it.
Girl, that's what I'm talking about,
'cause I'm that pretty chocolate, too.
That's right. That is right.
Understand that I had to tell somebody
they were, as a child, picking on me,
I said. My momma said I'm her black

(13:14):
beauty. Leave me alone.
That's right. That's exactly what we
have. My Mama needs to tell me all the
time too. Baby, you are beautiful. And
I'll be like, OK, beautiful. What she
talking about?Exactly.
But The thing is, there are a lot of
people that did not have that
reinforcement. So they were

(13:36):
sleeping. And when you talked about
women being taught, girls being taught to
be seen and not heard, that
was a lot of my upbringing. And I'm
sure there are other listeners out here
that had the same type of experience.
So when you just liberated
us to look at people and say hi, yeah, I

(13:57):
see you, I see you and I see you.
Ain't nobody give me 'cause I see you.
That's right. I see you seeing me.
Yes, I see you seeing me. I
see you seeing me. Wow. So this is
amazing. This was, this was a quick
session, and I keep calling

(14:18):
it a session, cause in my mind, that's
what this is. What? How can
my listeners?Keep up with
you. Reach out to you,
contact you, Learn more information.
What are their options? So their
options. So your audience will be the
first to hear this. I will

(14:39):
be. I will be
holding my very first women's
brunch in July
and it is called I'm Worth
Fighting For. So if you go to my
website. My
website fossedefensepro. com
and click on the link that says I'm worth

(15:00):
fighting for brunch. You can join the
waiting list and when tickets go on sale
you will be first to be notified. But you
can also follow me on all social media,
so Facebook, Instagram. I
plan to start a YouTube channel soon at
Foxy Defense Pro. That's all We are Foxy
Defense Pro on all social media. So

(15:20):
that is it. That is how you can
contact me, send me Adm, go to the
website. Pro. com and
open that chat and I'll communicate with
you. Oh wow, that's great. And
I have her information down at the
bottom. Foxy Defense, pro.
com. We all should be at

(15:41):
this event. Would you
say women?
I'm worth fighting for, yes.
We're OK. I'm slow so
it take me a minute, it's OK.
We do have monthly self-defense classes
as well. Those are also on the website.

(16:01):
So I believe it's either the first or
second Saturday of every month. We have
self-defense classes in Southwest, Fort
Worth in southwest. OK, alright
so we can we don't have to wait till
July, we can attend and remotely.
Session before then before July. So
that's pretty cool. I'm excited about

(16:22):
that. Oh man. So you guys
can reach out to Demetra.
And any of her sites
she gave you with her social media
is she got this event coming up in
July and I would love for all of you to
attend and tell them you heard it on

(16:42):
Shine Bright with Sabrina. That would be
awesome. So I
want to is there anything else you want
to leave my listeners with before I
close out today?No, this
has been a really good session. We left
you with some tips on why women need self-
defense over a man or Mace.

(17:07):
And that is that's all I have for you.
Yes, yes, yes. So she done told us
why we need to practice some self-
defense. We don't need to depend on no
other man, no Mace or nothing else. We
need some other things in place. Not just
them. They may protect us. But yes,
yes. Yes, ma'am, you do need some

(17:29):
other things. OK. I
want to thank you all for tuning in today
to another episode of Shine Bright with
Sabrina. And I am.
Hopeful that you learn some tips today
that will help you as you go along
your journey every single day. My
desire is to always provide you with

(17:50):
information to help you to shine bright.
Because I believe you deserve to shine
bright. And you can follow me on all the
social media platforms at Sabrina Shine
Williams. On all platforms, I'm
Sabrina Shine Williams, and you can
follow this podcast at.
Www. shinebright with Sabrina,

(18:13):
So that's following the podcast
and. I'm trying to think
what else was I gonna say? Oh, I love
y'all. I love every last one of y'all
that's listening today. OK, I'm loving
you because I know that you're gonna
shine bright. Because together we all
shine bright. And that's the whole

(18:34):
goal is for us to all shinebright.
bright.