Sev Necati works in partnership with Advance

Sev Necati worked in partnership with Advance, The Wembley Youth Club and Youth Services to deliver a workshop for women and girls in personal safety, self-defence and confidence building.

All the women and girls that accessed the programme were from a range of different backgrounds, cultures, ages and abilities.  Each week they took part in practical exercises in self-defence, as well as discussions and group training.

Those that took part expressed how their self-esteem and confidence levels had improved, as well as it being a life changing experience for some.

"I am very pleased to share my experiences of working with Sev Necati, and also experiencing her 10 week self defence course in Wembley Youth Centre. I work as the Violence against women and girls prevention worker at Advance advocacy services. The self defence course was commissioned by Advance as a part of the Wembley Stadium Trust small grant project. Sev was professional, open to partnership working and organised with course material, resources and sessions planning. The participants were very engaged and the overall feedback was very positive.  

Sev Necati’s course design and delivery is unique with its balanced approach to self defence techniques and tools to build mental strength and self esteem. The course is well rounded in building the participant’s awareness to risks, understanding the context of power and control that gives rise to violence against women and girls and encouraging girls to unleash their physical strength to defend and protect themselves against harm. I was very impressed to see the girls gaining confidence as the weeks went by and how Sev took care to realise the potential of each individual participant and pushed them to challenge themselves a little more each time. They emerged feeling confident and stronger. 

I highly recommend Sev Necati’s self defence courses and feel it is very relevant for a wide range of people and the course is adaptable to the needs to different groups."

Violence against women and girls prevention worker at Advance

Some Comments from the females when asked what they enjoyed about the session & what inspired them:

“I feel more confident in myself.”

“Really enjoyed the course and the practical is a really important part.”

“I really enjoyed the sessions.  I feel more confident and aware.”

“The various self-defence techniques were really helpful.”

“The theory lesson was very interesting and beneficial.”

“The trainer was very funny and is good at delivering information and good at training as well as being a good motivator.”

“Very helpful, do this more in other boroughs.”

“Over the weeks I have improved in confidence and strength.”

“The training sessions were really useful I feel I have gained a lot more knowledge.” 

“Sev is a really great instructor, encouraging as well as pushing us to do our best.”

“I feel a lot more confident and the practical exercises have made me realise I can do it.”

“Amazing sessions.”

“Brilliant trainer!”

“Inspired me to gain confidence in what to do in case of a situation.”

“It is an excellent course and very well delivered.”

“The motivation and feed-back was really useful.”

“The floor work was very inspiring as the more we did it the stronger my body became.”

“Knowing I can help myself if crime did happen.”

Our projects work to inspire and empower females from all backgrounds and abilities.  We work towards building the confidence of these women and girls and hope they continue to make positive changes in their lives for their benefit.

The Participant - Case Study
Mary is a 22 year old female.  Married and has no children.
Please tell us why you became involved in the project?
I needed to learn some skills to protect myself, know how to self-defence.  Earlier, at the beginning of the course, I didn’t have any confidence I joined hoping I would gain confidence, because of so many stories I had heard about women getting attacked, I felt it was a good opportunity for me to learn.

Please tell us how participating helped you?
I can now physically attack very hard if I need too as a last option.   I have gained confidence and I believe in myself and I don’t have any fears the thoughts I had before, they are no longer there.   I can now protect myself through the knowledge and skills training.  It has helped me physically and mentally a lot.  I feel more powerful and I am a lot stronger than I was.

Please tell us what has changed for you as a result of engaging with the project?
I think I am a new person previously I was shy and powerless so weak, now I am strong I feel that it has changed my life I think for the short sessions I have had I have never experienced this before this has been life changing I know.

All names of participants have been changed to protect their identity.

Advance provide services for women aged 13+, living in Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington, Chelsea, Westminster. A&E and maternity-related domestic violence services are available to women in Brent also.

Advance is here to support all women experiencing domestic violence no matter what you decide to do.  They can listen, help women understand their options, explain their legal rights, and talk to the police, and also help women get to safer housing.

If you are looking for sessions, workshops, projects and programmes that are both engaging, interactive and fun, but also informative and educational then please contact us at:

info@sevnecatitraining.com