Devi Protective Offense

Devi Protective Offense was created by 25 year veteran martial artist, personal trainer and EMT, Teja Van Wicklen to dispel common myths about women's self d efense and bring it into the 21st Century.

"I created Devi Protective Offense out of frustration with the status quo," Teja says. "Safety begins with your individual outlook and how you position yourself in the world, not with a kick or punch."

The Devi system is a lifestyle that encourages women with busy lives to prepare, plan and be ready for anything. "All my life I was physically strong and very athletic, it wasn't until a difficult pregnancy and a series of illnesses and surgeries in my late 30s that I began to look at martial arts in a new way. Really, I like to say my infant son came up with the idea for the company. Holding him and feeling how fragile he was really scared me out of complacency. It caused me to rethink all my training."

Teja has trained in the martial arts for over 25 years and is skilled in a wide range of styles including Sayoc Kali, Taekwondo and Tai Chi.

Prior to creating Devi, Teja was hired as an instructor at Tactical Awareness to co-run their Woman Warrior camp alongside 24-year veteran Navy SEAL, Michael Jaco. The camp was created to empower women to learn self protection and wilderness survival. Teja was also the only woman certified as an instructor at Sayoc Tactical Group, a company which instructs military and law enforcement personnel in the correct use of edged weapons.

Teja is a certified personal trainer with over 15 years of experience and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician).

Teja grew up in New York City's East Village with a passion for the arts. She attended the High School of Art and Design in Mid-Town for theater arts and graphic design and then the School of Visual Arts for filmmaking.

Teja was able to combine her visual and martial arts skills in a number of ways. She managed GO!, a martial arts production company that created and implemented staged stunt performances for major events and meetings worldwide. Over the course of seven years, GO! performed at the Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Premiere, The Matrix: Reloaded Premiere, the Tribeca Film Festival, Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks and the Japan Pavilion at Disney's Epcot Center. Teja has also trained actors for independent films and assisted in choreographing fight sequences for films like The Hunted (starring Benicio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones) and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (starring Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts and George Clooney).

Early in her career she was a sports model for major magazines and TV commercials and was interviewed for by ESPN, Good Day New York and Mademoiselle magazine among others.

Teja hopes that Devi Protective Offense will help curtail the culture violence against women.

Teja's primarily studies Sayoc Kali a Filipino tribal art specializing in edged weapons, survival training and martial science.