

Self defense is about knowing your boundaries, trusting yourself, and never having to hide who you are.
We are a growing community of fitness professionals, martial artist, and people from all walks of life, who believe that self defense isn’t just about fighting back — it’s about presence, confidence, and trust in our own innate will to be; it’s about community, and an awareness of possibility. We believe the world is an open place, filled with just as much opportunity as danger. We believe that everyone has a right to occupy their own space, and everyone has a right to agency over their own body.








At Pretty Deadly, we believe bodily autonomy is a basic human right, and everyone has a right to occupy their own space.
Our values are at the core of everything we do, the partnerships we form and even the suppliers we work with, while recognizing that upholding and maintaining values is a fluid, evolutionary process where static mindsets can delay and even derail our growth.
• Equality
• Diversity
• Intersectionality
• Inclusivity
• Community Responsibility

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
Maya Angelou
Who is Susie?
Susie Kahlich is the founder of Pretty Deadly Self Defense, a user-friendly self defense system she developed based on her 20+ years of Ninjutsu training, her experience as a violent crime survivor and her training in storytelling. She is certified in DV awareness and support from University of Sheffield, and trained in CBT.
Susie has been teaching self defense since 2009 across the US and Europe, and has worked with violent crime survivors, trauma victims and refugee and immigrant communities on three different continents and in multiple cities around the world. She has given seminars and private workplace consultations on sexual harassment policies for tech start-ups, corporate media, co-working spaces , thinktanks and blockchain companies in Europe and the UK.
Learn more about us
WHAT WE ARE NOT:
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Fear-driven
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Competitive
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Complicated
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Combative
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MMA, BJJ or Krav Maga

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