Holli LaMarque, founder and lead instructor of Fortitude Defense LLC, began developing her women’s self-defense workshops in April 2021. Driven by a deep desire to protect, encourage, and empower others—and guided by a compassionate heart for those who have experienced abuse—Holli has a unique ability to connect with the teens and women she teaches.
She holds a black belt in American Karate, a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a Cho Dan (first-degree black belt) in Tang Soo Do, and is a certified Primitive Tools Instructor (blade fighting) under Jonah Norman. She has completed numerous specialized courses, including Personal Security Course with former lead instructors Kevin Owens and Kirsten Morgen, Knife Control Concepts with instructor Mike Cheney, and multiple seminars through the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, including the Georgia Conference on Child Abuse Prevention.
Holli has led many Fortitude Defense self-defense workshops since its beginning, teaching well over 200 women, teens and children. These workshops provide practical and effective self-defense training, incorporating techniques specially selected from her training and experience. More importantly, Holli emphasizes critical thinking and situational awareness, teaching her students not just how to fight, but how to recognize danger and develop strong “street smarts” to help prevent an attack before it happens. Click the Contact Fortitude Defense link above to ask Holli questions or to schedule her to come teach at your church, business or school event!
Hey guys!
I hope you’ve had a chance to look around and really see my heart in all of this. I have a passion for equipping others to defend themselves and I’d love to share it with you! Word continues to spread and God has blessed me with the opportunity to instruct over two-hundred ladies and children so far, with hopefully many more in the future. Whether you are brand-new to all of this and may be nervous about going out on your own, or you have a trip coming up that you want to be prepared for or you just know how important taking your safety into your own hands is and want to learn more, I’m here for you.
I don’t take it lightly that I’ve had the honor of interviewing multiple abuse victims who have graciously shared their stories with me, police officers from different expertise and experiences and have received training from many martial arts experts to ensure that what I teach is relevant, realistic and practical!
I love to learn from others and see the immense value in continued pursuit of learning all I can in skills, techniques and strategies. The more I can add to what I’ve learned, the more I can teach others like you! I’ve also learned a lot in my personal, Christian life recently and would love to use what I’ve learned to help others and for God’s glory.
I hope you’ll allow me to Embolden, Equip and Empower YOU so you too can kick some tail and have the courage and ability to protect yourself and your loved ones! Shoot me an email if your school, church, business or organization would like to have me come teach/speak.
Love, Holli
