Women's Self-Defence Workshop in Ballito: Real Skills, Real Confidence, Real Protection

Women's Month is a time to celebrate the strength, achievements and contribution of women across South Africa. But at Maddog Performance Institute in Ballito, we believe empowerment should extend beyond words — it should include knowledge, confidence, and practical skills.

On Saturday, 22 August 2026, Maddog Performance Institute and Maddog Health & Wellness will host a self-defence workshop for women in Ballito — the Women's Month Safety Experience — a practical day created for women who want to become more aware, more prepared and more confident in responding to real-life situations.

This isn't a lecture. It's a full day of self-defence classes, situational awareness training and basic emergency first aid, led by women with real-world combat, military and medical experience.

And in the context of the statistics facing women in South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal, this is a conversation worth having.

Women's Safety in South Africa: What the Statistics Tell Us

Gender-based violence remains a serious issue across South Africa.

The country's first national Gender-Based Violence Study found that 33.1% of South African women aged 18 and older had experienced physical violence during their lifetime — approximately 7.3 million women. The same research found that 9.8% had experienced sexual violence, representing more than 2.1 million women.

These aren't statistics from another continent. They represent women living in communities across South Africa, including our own.

Closer to home, the situation in KwaZulu-Natal is also concerning. In March 2025, the KwaZulu-Natal Premier highlighted figures showing that 2,252 gender-based violence and femicide cases had been reported in eThekwini alone between October and December 2024. By November 2025, the provincial government identified eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and King Cetshwayo as the three highest GBV hotspot districts in KwaZulu-Natal.

National crime statistics released in May 2026 add another layer of context. During just the January to March 2026 quarter, 9,782 rapes were reported in South Africa and 47.2% occurred at the home of either the victim or the perpetrator.

That last statistic matters, because personal safety is often imagined as being solely about strangers, parking lots or dark streets. The reality is more complex. Safety awareness means recognising risk, understanding your environment, setting boundaries, responding to changing situations and knowing what options may be available when something goes wrong.

Why Self-Defence Training Matters for Women in KZN

Those statistics are serious, but this event isn't about making women afraid. It's the opposite.

Fear without knowledge isn't particularly useful. Preparation is.

The Women's Month Safety Experience is built around one simple philosophy: real skills, real confidence, real protection.

One workshop can't make anyone invulnerable, and no self-defence technique guarantees an outcome. But practical training can introduce women to concepts they may never have practised before — responding to physical contact, creating space, recognising warning signs, making quicker decisions, and understanding basic first-aid principles.

Practical Self-Defence Classes with Amanda "Maddog" Lino

The practical self-defence component of the day will be led by Amanda "Maddog" Lino, who brings extensive experience from professional mixed martial arts and combat sport, including competing at elite level and coaching athletes.

This session isn't designed to turn participants into MMA fighters. Instead, it introduces simple, practical self-defence concepts that any woman can understand and use.

Participants will work through physical scenarios and learn principles around protecting themselves, responding to grabs, creating space and making an opportunity to move away from danger.

There's a real difference between watching a self-defence video and physically practising a movement with another person — and this workshop gives Ballito women the chance to experience that difference firsthand.

Situational Awareness & First Aid Training with Amanda Wren Kobus

The second major component of the day is presented by Amanda Wren Kobus, who brings military and medical experience to the programme alongside her background in strength and powerlifting.

Her session focuses on situational awareness training and basic emergency first aid — two skills that don't get nearly enough attention in everyday conversations about safety.

Situational awareness isn't about walking through life expecting something bad to happen. It's about becoming more observant:

• Where are the exits?
• Who is around you?
• Has somebody's behaviour changed?
• Is something making you uncomfortable?
• What options do you have if a situation starts to escalate?

Participants will also learn practical first-aid principles that could make a real difference during an emergency while professional medical help is on the way.

Together, these two sessions cover both sides of personal preparedness — avoiding or responding to danger, and knowing how to help when someone needs it.

What Happens During the Day

• 08:00 — 30-minute bootcamp workout to kick off the morning
• Coffee & pastries sponsored by Concha Bakery & Café — time to meet the other women attending
• 09:30–11:00 — Practical self-defence workshop with Amanda "Maddog" Lino
• Light lunch sponsored by Mozambik
• 12:30–14:00 — Situational awareness & medical first-aid workshop with Amanda Wren Kobus

This is intentionally more than a classroom event. Women will move, practise, ask questions, interact and learn together.

What You'll Walk Away With

• Practical responses to common grabs and physical threats
• Principles for creating space and getting away from danger
• How to recognise warning signs before situations escalate
• Improved awareness of everyday surroundings
• Basic emergency first-aid principles
• A better understanding of how stress affects decision-making
• Real practical experience — not just theory

And because Women's Month should also be about connection, there's time throughout the day to meet, network and connect with other women from the Ballito and KZN North Coast community.

More Than R1,500 in Added Value

Every participant receives an event package worth approximately R1,500, including benefits from both Maddog Performance Institute and Maddog Health & Wellness:

• Complimentary InBody body composition session
• Complimentary sauna and ice bath contrast session
• Two weeks of training at Maddog Performance Institute
• Sponsored event shirt
• Branded key ring
• Mug
• Dallmayr hot chocolate mix
• Breakfast sponsored by Concha Bakery & Café
• Lunch sponsored by Mozambik

Training options available through Maddog Performance Institute include kickboxing, boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and bootcamp.

Pricing — Women's Month Safety Experience in Ballito

The workshop is deliberately limited to 25 women, so sessions stay practical and every participant gets real interaction with the instructors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Invest in Yourself This Women's Month

Women hear the word empowerment constantly. For us, empowerment also means being given real opportunities to learn something useful — to move, to practise, to ask questions, to build confidence, and to connect with other women.

This isn't about promising you'll never face danger. It's about making sure that if an unexpected situation does happen, the first time you think about what to do isn't in that moment.