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Design Self-Defense Instructor Armor for IMPACT Boston: Bring together social justice, design, and building stuff
 
The Client-Partner: IMPACT Boston believes that everyone has the right to be safe and the ability to protect themselves. They offer self-defense programs to give people the skills to stay calm and focused in unsafe situations. They also offer abuse prevention programs for schools, disability service organizations, and communities to help people develop tools, policies, and expectations that keep everyone safe. IMPACT has a focus on empowerment of traditionally marginalized communities (e.g. people with disabilities, LGBTQ folks, etc.)
The Project: Trainings involve role-playing harassment scenarios and full-power blows to an armored instructor. There is a need to redesign the armor as its design has not been updated in ~30 years. Furthermore, the lone individual who custom makes this armor is retiring would like to pass on the craft. This project is an opportunity to work closely with IMPACT’s trainers to understand their needs, understand the types of blows students deliver through participating in trainings, working with the current armor manufacturer to understand their process, and then designing a new armor that can be cheaply made by members of IMPACT’s staff.
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