Roar Training - Building Confident Girls And Women One Workshop At A Time!
This past Fall Komera had the opportunity to connect with Roar Training’s Julie Morrill and Becca Tolkoff for a six week virtual self-defense training. We are so thrilled and thankful for this opportunity to partner up. Here is their story!
Unlocking Your Roar: Building self-confidence through self-defense
Did you know worldwide nearly 30% of women (1 in 3) have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner? Unfortunately, based on a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021 these numbers are correct. Further, nearly 30% of women aged 15-49 have reported being subjected to sexual and/or physical violence at some point in their life1, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. Gender-based violence can happen to anyone, regardless of their economic status or geographic location. And while the onus should never be put on women or adolescent girls to learn how to defend themselves, we are grateful that there are organizations out there focused on teaching women tools they can use to prevent violence and also defend themselves if need be. Roar Training is one of those organizations.
Founded by Julie Morrill and Rebecca (Becca) Tolkoff, Roar Training first began after Julie, an avid runner, attended a running workshop in 2016 where she offered to teach a self-defense course; Becca was a participant in that training. After that meeting, the two decided to partner up and collaborate on ways to grow Julie’s workshop, thus Roar Training was born! The duo took Roar Training to the next level and became incorporated as “a way to take some control back” around the time of the #metoo movement. Since then, the duo has been teaching classes, workshops, and working with running groups to create safety protocols for events. Their organization focuses on teaching Krav Maga, an Israeli form of hand-to-hand combat and self-defense, the importance of self-confidence, and finding one’s own strength.
Roar Training connects with Komera
While participating in a run retreat, the Komera U.S. Managing Director and Founder, both attended one of Roar Training's self-defense workshops in Boston. From that, the partnership between our two organizations was formed. Both Julie and Becca were slated to visit Rwandan to teach our team self-defense techniques they could show our Komera community. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the trip was delayed. However, thanks to their dedication to partnering with our Komera team, Becca and Julie created a six-week virtual Train the Trainer pilot workshop – the first they’ve ever done! The workshop trained both Komera staff as well as the Teen Mother program Mentors. The mentors are young women who work directly with the young mothers in our program to build their confidence and support them during the year-long program at Komera. During the six weeks of virtual Roar training, our team learned different techniques ranging from fighting basics to defending against attacks, and how to teach self-defense. The training also emphasized the importance of learning and teaching non-physical safety basics like: identifying danger, the importance of staying aware, and using body postures or your voice to deter attacks.
Roar Training Success Story – Olive
While we always hope that our scholars and community members will be safe, we know this isn’t always the case. And for one of our Teen Mother program mentors, Olive, this was unfortunately the case. But thanks to the self-defense techniques she learned from Roar Training, she was able to defend herself against a pick-pocketer! This is her story…
“‘Good job Olive!’ ‘A girl has defended herself!’ ‘Girls are strong!’ ‘They are able!’”
“It was on [a] Thursday that I went into the market in my village to sell beans. Selling beans is one of my small business activities that I always do to earn some money [to help] support my family because I am a child headed family. It felt too busy and crowded by many buyers in the market. As I was selling my beans, I detected a pick pocketer [trying to get] my phone. I was aware that it was a thief! I immediately turned around very quickly and grabbed the thief and squeezed him tightly. He immediately released my phone down to the ground and my friend at the market near me picked it from the ground. I was now sure that my phone was safe, however I did not give up. I felt more energetic with my stance and I used the punches taught, fist, slap, and palm heal. He immediately ran away.
I sat down breathing heavily and heard many people say “Good job Olive!” “A girl has defended herself!” “Girls are strong!” “They are able!” I felt happy that at least people know that women and girls are not the weaker parties to be tasted on every immoral activity. Another thing that made me happy was that, we all now saw the guy’s face and found out that it has been a usual face around the market that is a thief. All people learnt about him and were aware of dealing with him as he moved around them! It took a few minutes when all things became normal and he came to apologize for his shame.
I believe that the skills I learnt from the Roar training added a lot to my confidence to deal with the attack. I therefore call all women and girls that although they are always regarded as weaker parties, they need to always try hard to attack any danger around them. They should know that the wrong dowers can be weak because of their shame. Thank you, Julie, Becca, and Komera for a wonderful training!”
While this was surely a scary moment for all involved, we are so proud of Olive for defending herself, but more so for showing other women, and men, that girls are not weak. We are strong and capable! We are also so grateful for the time and support Roar Training gave our team, especially in moments like these.
Three Komera scholars in Rwanda holding a handmade sign that says “Defense Komera Team”
Six Komera scholars in Rwanda holding a handmade sign that says “Defense Komera Team”
Taking the Next Steps…
While we are hopeful for the day when incidences like Olive’s are far and few in between, we know we still have a way to go. To understand more about gender-based violence, we recommend checking out the UNHRC and One Billion Rising. Don’t forget to check out Roar Training's instagram page for more information about events and workshops that you can join virtually or in-person! We look forward to welcoming Julie and Rebecca to Rwanda in the near future to continue training workshops with our Komera community!