About SHIELD Women's Self Defense System ®

Since 2003, SHIELD Women's Self Defense System ® empowers women and girls by training them on how to fight back a much stronger opponent in close-range situations. Unlike other self defense or martial arts, SHIELD emphasizes on using leverage and lower body strength to generate power.  Based on a mixture of martial arts principles, self-defense and street  fighting skills, SHIELD Women's Self Defense System ® was created exclusively for women & girls. 

Awareness, verbal and psychological aspects of self defense are  incorporated in our women's self defense classes in Los Angeles area. Completing SHIELD  Women's Self Defense classes will increase self-confidence, enhance  personal safety, raise awareness and become more comfortable on how to  use one's body as a weapon.  

OUR MISSION:

Our  mission is to empower women and girls, eradicate sexual assault, and even up the playing field through our unique self defense training system.

OUR VISION:

Our Vision is for women and girls to have self defense skills and capability to be destructive to anyone attempting to violate them.

Our Vision is for SHIELD Women's Self Defense System ® to be the standard self-defense training system for women and girls.

About Nelson Nio 

(founder of SHIELD):

Nelson  has been trained in various martial arts and self defense training since childhood. In 2003, a friend of his was sexually assaulted violently. She asked him to show her some self defense moves. He started teaching her some self defense skills on how to fight back a much bigger opponent. 

From teaching one friend, Nelson continues developing SHIELD Women Self Defense by  volunteering at various organizations, women's shelters and private groups. He then became an advocate on ending violence against women. To date, Nelson has taught self defense classes for women in Los Angeles area to over 40,000 women & girls in  major universities, high schools, Fortune 100 companies, private groups and government entities. He has provided self defense training for LA County Dept of Public Health, LA Co Domestic Violence Council, LA Co Dept for Women's Health, Santa Monica Police, BuzzFeed, Discovery, Kaiser Permanente, Fox Studios, Lionsgate, Amazon Studios, Southern California Edison, UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, LMU, and other schools, companies private groups, and government entities. 

Awards and Recognition:

-  Featured on BBC World News documentary program of inspirational people from around the world.

- "Best of LA People" 2011 by LA Weekly   

-  Award from the Consulate General of Mexico

-  Honor from Amanecer Community Counseling

-  "Civic Pride" by Glendale News Press

Nelson  has been featured on BBC World News, Good Morning America, BuzzFeed, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, Hallmark Channel,  KCAL9, France24, MegaTV, Univision, Telemundo, and in various newspaper articles teaching self defense classes for women and girls. He has also  been featured on E! Entertainment teaching self-defense for Kim  Kardashian and her sisters on "Keeping up with the Kardashians" TV Show.

Nelson also served on the Board of Directors for YWCA Glendale, sat on the  Executive Committee for the National Organization for Women (NOW),  Hollywood, and served on the Board for Culver City Education Foundations.