We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jaime Hobbs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jaime, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

After teaching Women’s Self Defense classes in another state for several years, through the police department where I worked, I moved back to Colorado in 2015. Not only did my new police department not offer anything similar, but as I looked around the area, I couldn’t find anything comparable. There were only a handful of departments that offered Women’s Self Defense classes and they were either booked within hours of announcing classes, limited to only that city’s residents, or jam packed full of technical maneuvers that didn’t seem realistic to me. There were a few martial arts studios that offered their version of self defense classes, as well.

While I applaud any police department, martial arts studio, or anyone else offering to teach women how to protect themselves, I felt there was a disconnect. As a 911 dispatcher for over a decade and a former victim advocate, as well as a domestic violence survivor myself, I am no stranger to trauma, crime, or violence. Stephanie and I are both trained in and accustomed to crisis intervention, helping victims and survivors through their most traumatic experiences and moments.

But, what if we could get to women before something traumatic happened to them? What if, instead of cramming a bunch of fancy physical maneuvers into a one day class, we taught women how to avoid being victimized altogether? What if we talked about situational awareness and boundaries, giving women permission to be as strong, assertive, and even rude as necessary? For women who have already experienced some sort of assault or trauma, what if we could help them gain back confidence, lose some of the anxiety, and feel empowered to protect themselves? What if we laid the foundation, sharing principles of safety, that women could carry through their lives and build upon?

It’s important to recognize that almost half of all rapes are perpetrated by an acquaintance of the victim. More than 60% of female stalking victims report that their stalker is a current or former intimate partner. 1 in 3 women have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. These statistics are important to acknowledge because “traditional” self defense coaching and instruction often does not necessarily take into account the complicated relationships, and the emotional and psychological elements behind these crimes.

And that is how we came up with the idea for Paragon Defense.

The foundation of our training – boundaries, situational awareness, empowerment – is supplemented with simple, effective, and proven physical techniques designed to allow an opportunity to escape and survive. We are training to save your life, not spar with someone trying to take your purse or car keys. Your belongings, however sentimental or valuable, are replaceable. You are not.

Having seen the “aha” moments and lightbulb realizations for women in our classes, as well as the very real shift in confidence and mindset from the beginning of class to the end, we know this is priceless information and we get excited sharing it with others. This is a crucial conversation that we want to have with every woman.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We both come from a law enforcement background – Stephanie as a police officer and me as a victim advocate and 911 dispatcher. Having taught women’s self defense for years through our former police department, we knew that once we were (back) in Colorado, this was information we wanted to continue to share with women.

As first responders, we’re both trained and skilled in crisis intervention, de-escalation, and the effects of trauma. We’ve worked extensively with both the perpetrators of these crimes, as well as their victims at various stages, from immediately after they’ve been victimized, through the investigation, court process, and the years of healing afterwards. Having these survivors of sex assault, domestic violence, and other violating acts in our classes has always been one of the most rewarding parts of teaching. We get to see the transformation that takes place from the moment they step into the classroom to the end, as they walk out with their head held high, feeling empowered and confident in their ability to protect themselves.

What we recognized early on is an apparent disconnect between the average woman, real life practicality, risk reduction and the typical women’s self defense class. We’ve gone through the mainstream and national programs like R.A.D. and SHARP, as well as martial arts type classes like Krav Maga. While there is indisputable value to be found in all of them, we’ve tailored our approach in several ways.

Our classes are for every woman. We meet you where you are no matter your fitness level, physical ability, previous training, previous injuries, etc. Every woman is welcome, valued, and appreciated.
The foundation of our training – situational awareness, risk reduction, setting boundaries, avoidance, and empowerment – is supplemented with simple, effective, and proven physical techniques and principles that don’t take weeks or months to perfect.
While we maintain a trauma informed approach and absolutely love having survivors go through our training, we also aim to reach women before they ever experience victimization.

Numerous studies have concluded that simply attending a self defense class can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a victim. We’ve spent the majority of our adult lives witnessing the effects of victimization. We’ve sat through forensic exams with rape and domestic violence survivors. We’ve seen firsthand the crime scenes. And now, we’ve made it our mission to empower women by showing them they are not helpless. Their safety is not out of their hands. They are capable and competent.

A year or two into our journey as Paragon Defense, we broadened our scope of safety outreach by implementing our Small Business Safety Training. We’ve been thrilled with the positive feedback and referrals we’ve received. While we tailor this training to each client, based on their individual business’s needs, it typically emcompasses some or all of the following:

Site safety inspection
Employee training that covers topics such as situational awareness, verbal altercations, interactions with those in mental health crisis or under the influence, best practices, active shooter resources and training, etc.
Final report to include safety suggestions and improvements

Whether it’s training employees, assault survivors, teenage girls entering the world of dating or college, and everyone in between, we are passionate about safety, particularly women’s safety. We love what we do and are proud of the impact it makes.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

As fairly new business owners whose business was just ramping up before we found ourselves in the midst of a pandemic, we’ve experimented with finding methods to get our name and brand in front of potential clients. What we’ve found is that nothing compares to word of mouth and client referrals. Like most experiences, it’s easier to commit to something when you have a friend or co-worker who has already been through it and has great things to say.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

While we both have extensive experience working with survivors and have seen firsthand the effects of trauma and violence, I think what is easiest for others to recognize is our passion for what we do. Our life and career experiences may be the catalyst behind that passion, but when someone comes to one of our classes or workshops, or anytime we are talking about safety, particularly women’s safety, our enthusiasm and zeal for what we are sharing is obvious. It’s such a joy to help women hone skills they already possess and share knowledge that empowers them to go through life safer and more confidently.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paragonselfdefense.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/paragondefense
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/paragondefensecolorado
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-hobbs-54569435/