TULSA, Ok — Gloria Marcott knows what it means to be a survivor.
Someone abducted her from her bus stop and brutally assaulted her when she was just 12.
WATCH: Tulsa woman teaches others how to protect themselves from attack
“A yellow bus was supposed to come and get me. A yellow station wagon came instead. I probably should not have made it that day,” Marcott said.
Using that traumatic experience, she became a law enforcement officer and worked for the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office as a special agent in human trafficking.
Now, she’s using her personal story to help women defend themselves through her Soul Punch Self-Defense program, which blends trauma-informed tactics, real-world strategies, and cutting-edge technology.
“We teach foundational safety, we teach hands-on skills, then we incorporate technology into that training so it’s not just about the outside physical skills. We have to empower ourselves from the inside out,” Marcott said.
According to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, domestic violence homicides spiked in 2023, with a total of 122.
Marcott made it her mission to give women like Jenny Voss and her daughter, Macie, the tools they need to protect themselves.
“I have a daughter that is getting ready to graduate from high school and go out into the world on her own, and so it was a goal of mine before she graduated to find a training, a self-defense training that we could do together,” Voss said.
Voss loved the training so much that she decided to become a certified Soul Punch instructor. She said teaching Macie to defend herself is one of the best things she can do as a mother.
“As women, we have to prepare ourselves to defend ourselves when needed if that situation does arise,” Voss said.
Click below for more information on the classes:
https://www.soulpunch.info/
https://www.updogyogatulsa.com/
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