The state of Arizona ranks 5th in the nation for the highest domestic violence rates.  

Amid that staggering statistic, at least 42.6% of the victims are women.  

With the numbers of violence against women continuing to climb, former UFC fighter Zane Frazier provides Women’s self-defense classes in Phoenix in order to help women feel more empowered, alert, aware and better prepared for any possible violent situations.

Growing up, Frazier recalls instances of his mother having to defend herself and protect him. 

Frazier recalled a moment where he and his mother went to a laundry and saw a suspicious figure staring at them through a nearby house.

 After that scenario, he became aware of the importance of a woman being able to protect herself and others.  

“I had a lot of female cousins, so I would teach them how to defend themselves,” Frazier said.

During his time in college at the University at Idaho, Frazier completed an assignment for a criminology class on eliminating crime from the world. But Frazier’s assignment was focused on sexual assault and rape against women.

Through multiple interviews with inmates, Frazier pondered one question. 

“If I was to design a self-defense program to fight against someone like you for women—how would I do it?”

Frazier went on to create a women’s self-defense program while in college where he taught sorority members how to defend themselves.

He recalled a professor’s words at that time—he told Frazier that he had a gift and a talent in that. 

After finishing up his MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) career, Frazier focused on opening up his boxing gym and began teaching classes.  Teaming up with his wife Jolee, they created their program called, “Fight Back.”

“Oftentimes, women’s self-defense is taught as a defensive mechanism, we teach it as an offense,” Frazier said when asked what makes his program unique.

Frazier’s “Fight Back” class begins by teaching boxing fundamentals. 

He told Northeast Valley News he tends to stay away from jujitsu because the style requires the person to be on their back to be effective, leaving them vulnerable to being picked up and slammed.  

While at a training session with the ASU wrestling team, Frazier asked one of the woman wrestlers to spar. After the session, Frazier recognized the effectiveness of freestyle wrestling and decided to implement it into his program.

Through years of teaching women’s self-defense classes, Frazier continues a lifelong quest to help women with self-protection technique and skill through his Title Boxing Club in Phoenix.