Hi!
Meet your instructor, Erin Lanter. In addition to teaching self-defense, she is the mom of two girls. Erin holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.A. in Mental Health Counseling. She also holds a 2nd Dan blackbelt in Kyuki-do and has studied various methods of self-defense, including earning a pink belt from Gracie University's Women Empowered program. Erin is also a writer, world traveler, dog lover, and tea enthusiast. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, two daughters, and two misfit dogs.
My Story
I had my first introduction to self-defense shortly after graduating from college, when I worked at a psychiatric hospital. As part of orientation, we were required to learn a few basic techniques in the event that we were attacked by a patient. Fortunately, I never was, though my coworkers weren't as lucky. During that time, I often wondered what it was about me that kept me from being targeted, when so many of my coworkers were. Even though I never had to defend myself against an angry patient, my interest in self-defense had begun.
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Fast forward twelve years, and my oldest daughter informed me she wanted to take karate. Perfect. The seeds that had been planted more than a decade prior were finally about to be watered. I tried out a class with her, and was all in. I signed my whole family up for martial arts. In the beginning, I loved the techniques and learning something that was outside of anything I'd ever done. But as time went on, I began to see the usefulness of what I was learning if I was ever in a situation where I needed to protect myself. After taking several 6-week self defense courses, I realized this was my passion, and that I was good at empowering and encouraging other women. Over time, I began studying different types of self-defense, even earning my pink belt from Gracie University's Women Empowered program.
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Years of training have brought me to this: helping women of all ages and skill levels tap into abilities they don't know they have, and reminding them that they have every reason to be confident when it comes to protecting themselves.