The Warrior Code · Cedar Knolls, NJ
Free Self-Defense Session for Women Over 35
How Adults Actually Learn To Defend Themselves
Most adults never actually learn to defend themselves. And it is almost never about age, fitness or talent. We know that because we measured it.
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Over twelve months we tracked 177 weekly check-ins from our own students: how often they came to class, whether they did the work at home, how the nutrition went, and whether they felt they were getting anywhere. Separately, across four rooms here in Morris County, we asked about sixty-five women one question before teaching them anything: what could go wrong today, and what would you do about it?
This free adult self-defense session, from our Krav Maga studio in Cedar Knolls, Morris County, is what both of those told us.
What we cover
- What women here are afraid of: the counted list, from those four rooms. Grabbed or choked from behind came up most, by a distance.
- How the training is built: the situation, then the drill, then the intensity raised to match it, and only once you can do it slowly. Then you test it yourself.
- The one habit that separated our students who progressed from the ones who stalled. It was worth 29 points, and doing it "mostly" scored the same as not doing it at all.
- Why two sessions a week and three are not the same thing, and the one result in the whole study that had no exceptions in it.
- What the first six weeks feel like, including weeks three and four, which is where most people want to quit.
- Three of our own members, in their own words, and your questions answered live.
One honest note
Nobody can promise you will be able to defend yourself.
Not us, not anyone. There is no model that predicts it, and police training has been trying to measure that for years.
What we can show you is narrower, and you can check it yourself: what people here are afraid of, what we train against it, and whether you are getting stronger, which you can see, feel and test.
Who is teaching it
Gonçalo Esteves has taught Krav Maga since 1997, across Portugal, Norway, the United Kingdom and now Cedar Knolls, roughly 1,500 people in all. He founded schools in Norway and the UK before opening Self Defense 4 All in Cedar Knolls in 2016; 791 people have trained here since.
The foundation was karate: 4th Dan, four-time Portuguese National Champion, member of the Portuguese National Team. He is also an industrial engineer who led biomechanics modules for Portugal's national federation, and holds three NASA Challenge Awards, which is why this studio measures what it does.
Capability before confidence. Evidence before hype.
"The class is a mixture of all ages and proficiency levels, so do not let age or knowledge scare u off."
Google review
"It is an environment of intensity but kindness."
Google review
4.9 stars across 49 Google reviews. Read them →
Want to see the room?
Your first session is free: sixty minutes of training, a physical capability assessment against adapted military standards, and a one-on-one debrief on your own plan.
Book My Free First SessionFree Session for Women Over 35: Questions
- Is the session free?
- Yes. It is a free live session, about thirty minutes, with nothing to buy. At the end Gonçalo explains how to book a free first session at the studio, for anyone who wants one.
- Do I need any experience?
- None. It is built for adults who have never trained, or who have not trained in years. You watch, and you can type a question at any point.
- Can it tell me whether I would be able to defend myself?
- No, and nobody can promise that. What the session shows is how adults learn: what we train, how hard, and how our own students tracked their progress over twelve months.
- Do I have to live near Cedar Knolls?
- Not to watch. The free first session afterwards is in person, at 210 Malapardis Rd, Cedar Knolls NJ, five minutes from Morristown.
- Is there a session for men?
- Yes. There is a separate session for men over 35.