Striving Defense has been created to honor the lives lost of two remarkable women in my family. For my mother, Carla Larson, who passed in 1997 and my Aunt, Sonja Larson, who passed in 1990. Both of these attacks took place at the hands of a stranger and occurred during moments when they believed they had a sense of security. This is where I choose to step in and change the narrative of our family.

Carla Larson: 1967-1997

I will not let the deaths of these two incredibly loving and beautiful women occur without doing everything in my power to make a change for women in the future. My desire is to use this platform to help understand, educate, and share the knowledge of self-defense and how utterly important it can be. Striving Defense is here to honor the lives of these two women I never had the chance to know and to take a stand for all of the other individuals that no longer can. Striving Defense is here to spread knowledge about how to handle certain situations and how to help maintain that sense of security; while also empowering women to learn from the past and take action before it’s too late. You and your loved ones are worth defending, so strive to defend them. Strive to defend yourself.

Sonja Larson: 1972-1990