After a troubling incident in their shop, Leah Plummer and Nina Hazelton, queer co-owners of Broadway Bikes, decided it was time to act.
“We had a particularly unnerving situation where someone came in… definitely having a mental health crisis,” Plummer said. “After that, we wanted both physical de-escalation techniques and ways to prevent things from getting to that point.”
Then, by chance, Nancy Lanoue, founder of Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self Defense, 1220 W. Belmont Ave., walked into their shop for a bike tune-up. That conversation sparked what would become a community-wide Small Business De-Escalation Workshop led by Thousand Waves.
The workshop took place April 7 at Chicago Fair Trade, 4704 N Broadway Ave., and brought together participants from local small businesses and community organizations. Community sponsors included the offices of Alds. Angela Clay (46th Ward) and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), ONE Northside, the 19th and 20th District Councils of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability and Uptown Special Service Area #34.
Led by Lanoue and Patricia Broughton, coordinator of the Empowerment Self-Defense program at Thousand Waves, the training introduced participants to the Five Finger Model (Think, Yell, Run, Fight, Tell). Participants learned about the roots of violence and why it can be difficult to advocate for themselves, as well as boundary-setting techniques. They then practiced both communication strategies and physical self-defense techniques.
Founded by two lesbians, Thousand Waves grew out of a broader movement of women and queer people building tools for their own safety. That history continues to shape its approach to self-defense and de-escalation training, emphasizing empowerment, awareness, and collective care.
“It was wonderful seeing such an engaged community eager to learn these important skills,” said Michele Curley, who assisted with the training alongside Aria St. James.
“What stood out to me most was people’s open-hearted willingness to try all the exercises, even when they felt a little uncomfortable at first,” said Patricia Broughton.
Participants left with a stronger sense of how to de-escalate customer-facing situations.
“The more training we have in keeping situations calm, the better a resource we can be as members of our community,” Plummer said.
Plummer and Hazelton said they are excited to be learning skills rooted in “movements of women and queer folks creating safety for themselves and each other.”
Learn more about Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self Defense self-defense courses here: https://thousandwaves.org/self-defense/
