Instructors

Wen-do instructor bios and contact info

Leslie Allin

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Leslie loves teaching Wen-Do because working at the intersection of practice (learning effective physical techniques) and theory (dismantling stereotypes surrounding violence against women, knowledge about self-defense, and naming women’s experience) profoundly empowers women.…
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Deb Chard

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As a long time senior trainer and activist in Wen-Do Women’s Self Defence, I teach all levels including the instructor training program. Since 1988, I have been part of the creation of safety and wellness programs for colleges, community groups,…
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Renee Sharpe

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Renee Sharpe is a proud woman in the trades, and is so happy to be teaching Wen-Do Women’s Self Defence throughout her home of Newfoundland and Labrador.…
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Claire Huang Kinsley

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I first took Wen-Do at the age of sixteen, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the course changed my life. I had never felt strong or athletic, so it was incredibly empowering to realize I could physically defend myself;…
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Laura Hartley

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I love that as a Wen-Do instructor I get to create supportive spaces for girls and women to find their own inner strength and work together to challenge the various forms of violence girls and women face in their lives. …
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Heather Howe

As a survivor of physical and sexual violence, Wen-Do has been a life changing experience for me. It helped me feel safer, increased my confidence, and ultimately helped me to heal.…
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Shailagh (Shaiden) Keaney

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Shaiden (xe/xem/xyr) fosters empowerment through passionate, engaging and seriously fun self-defence classes, and has been doing so since 2015. Participants in Shaiden’s classes get practical self-defence techniques combined with skilled explorations of the realities of gendered violence.…
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