67-year-old woman empowering others through self defense

Meet Barbara White, the 67-year-old woman and instructor at Bob White's Karate Studio in Costa Mesa. She's empowering other women through self defense, teaching them technique and confidence to keep themselves safe.

During the day, Barbara White is a nurse at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where she aids patients through check-ins and discharge plans.

"To me it's essentially a family up here," White said. "I've been here for so long."

But at night, the 67-year-old dons an entirely different type of white coat, still doing her best to help the public — this time through self defense. 

White is a seventh-degree black belt in American kenpo karate who teaches women's self defense classes. 

She initially began her training back in 1991, bouncing around from studio to studio before finding her home at Bob White's Kenpo Karate Studio in Costa Mesa. 

"There was a woman on the mat teaching the Tuesday day class," White recalled.

It was then that she stepped in, never looking back. Eventually she married Bob White and gained a massive new family.

"My husband was such an advocate of women in martial arts and had such high respect," she said.

It's because of this that she started the "Not Me, Not Today! Women's Self Defense" classes at the studio, hoping to empower women to defend themselves and prevent physical or emotional trauma.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that more than half of women experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetimes, and 40% of rape victims say that they were first attacked when they were minors.

White's class teaches women and girls how to stay aware and not be a "soft target." 

They learn basic fighting techniques and to trust their gut feeling — if something feels wrong, act on it. Don't be afraid to scream, hit or run if necessary.

Through all of this, she's hopeful that her students also learn confidence, because she doesn't want women to become victims she sees at her other job. 

"What women need to do is we lift one another up and we encourage one another and I think by this, and the unity, it helps to instill a belief in ourselves."