Florida woman fights off would-be rapist who broke into empty gym hosts free self-defense classes

A Florida woman who rose to fame after she was filmed battling a would-be rapist in her gym is now teaching free self-defense classes.

Nashali Alma, 24, is working with YouFit in Tampa to teach others techniques they can use to get out of trouble should they ever face a similar attacker.

Alma explained her new venture and said, “I embraced it. I’m proud to just be there to share my story to inspire others to speak up, fight back and never give up.”

She works with self-defense coach Jacob Bleistein, who specializes in the Israeli krav maga form of self-defense training.

Alma decided to team up with Bleistein after footage of her attack in January sparked national and international headlines.

She opened the door to the gym at the Inwood Park apartment complex in Tampa, thinking suspect Xavier Thomas-Jones was a fellow resident.

But Thomas-Jones quickly ran up to Alma and tried to throw her to the ground. Alma, a biomedical science student, was able to use her weightlifting prowess to beat him.

She could call 911.

Thomas-Jones fled before police arrived, but broke into another woman’s apartment the next day.

He was chased away by the unnamed woman’s fiancée and then allegedly told the police that he wanted to rape both women.

He was arrested and charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping.

Since the attack, Alma has become a self-defense advocate encouraging and empowering other women to survive an attack by “fighting back” and “never giving up.”

She recalled the event and told NewsNation that at first she wasn’t sure what happened while she was working out.

“I was kind of confused, I was like ‘What’s going on?’ So when he first approached me I was like, ‘Whoa! What does it matter?’ she said.

“And later, when I realized he was – you know – there to attack me and try to rape me, that’s when I knew it was about to happen.”

She also talked about being attentive in dangerous situations.

“My mother always told me to never give up, never stop fighting. And I just kept that in my head the whole time I was fighting him,” she said.

“Because my mom raised a fighter, and I made sure it showed.”

Jordan Towns with YouFit told ABC Action News that “the video is the proof in the pudding.”

Self-defense coach Jason Bleistein, who teaches Krav Maga in South Tampa, said if anyone ever finds themselves in a situation like Ali, the first thing to do is “get loud.”

“Yell the attacker to ‘back off’ and ‘stop.” This will hopefully draw attention to the situation and show the attacker that you will fight back,” he said.

Some moves he suggested are taking a step back and put your hands up and dominant foot back and said a open hand punching is more powerful than punching with your fist, especially if you hit the nose, jaw, or ear.

“You never think it will happen to you, and then when it does, you have to make sure you know how to defend yourself,” he said.

GirlsFightInc, a martial arts school in Texas, called Ali a “real fighter” on their social media.

“I really have to commend the way Nashali got out of the corner she was in – she held up her hands, held the attacker in front of her, used her voice, took advantage of available obstacles and circled for an exit,” police said. read message.

Although the attacker persevered, Nashali’s fighting spirit and will to survive prevailed and rescued her from a terrible situation.

You don’t have to be a UFC fighter to defend yourself in a street attack. You don’t have to overload them. Like last them.

“Any woman is capable of this, especially with training.”