Oakland martial arts instructors provide self-defense classes to vulnerable communities

With hate crimes on the rise in the U.S., a pair of Oakland women have been equipping people with self-defense tools for free.
Martial arts instructor Mollii Khangsengsing shows a class of senior citizens, many, Cambodian immigrants, how they can use their whistle, their personal alarm and their voice to call for help. She also demonstrates how they can stand their ground.
“They have the right and the ability to defend themselves against anybody that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe,” she said.
Khangsengsing and fellow martial arts instructor Karin Spirn have trained more than 3,000 people in free community self-defense classes as part of Tuff Love Fitness, the Oakland-based nonprofit they founded in 2018.
In this case, they’re partnering with Compassion of Oakland to bring the safety lessons to the folks at the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants.
“We don’t think it’s something that’s a luxury. We think it’s something that’s accessible to everyone,” said Spirn.
Most of the time, Tuff Love trains at their downtown Oakland gym where they also teach low-cost martial arts and fitness classes.
It’s a safe place where many self-defense students include women, girls, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The pair has added trainings to meet the community’s need. Khangsengsing recalls expanding in 2021 when Asian hate crimes spiked during COVID.
“I felt really angry, hopeless and, to be honest, scared,” she said.
Tuff Love extended free lessons to Asian Americans of all ages and genders. They also offer workshops to businesses and schools.
The pair’s most important tip – be aware of your surroundings. They teach defensive hand and footwork to prevent or resist an attacker.
The method is practical and positive.
“We have it very wellness-based, so we want this to be something positive, that you want to come to again and again,” Spirn explained.
In fact, many of the elders smiled and laughed together when they were able to master the safety techniques.
Cambodian immigrant Nyphauong Bou says she no longer looks down but looks up as she walks.
“Right now, I feel more confident when I walk outside,” she told CBS News Bay Area through a translator.
And Born Cheam, who’d fought off a purse snatcher, came to class with her husband.
“The techniques she taught me makes me confident to defend myself,” she said, also through a translator.
Khangsengsing and Spirn know they’re making a difference, and that keeps them going.
“Every time you come to class, you get re-programming how you can face adversity, how you face other people, how you face yourself,” said Khangsengsing.
Spirn added, “Seeing people’s face light up as they realize they can do something and it worked – that delight in that new knowledge is so empowering to me. It’s so joyful, it makes me so happy to see.”
For equipping community members with free self-defense tools, this week’s Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Karin Sprin and Mollii Khangsengsing.