Episode Details

Our guest is Stacey Knight Mejia, an attorney by training but better known throughout Acadiana as “Sensei Stacey,” co-owner and chief instructor of Acadiana Karate.

A ten-time national forms and weapons champion, Stacey has spent decades teaching martial arts, confidence, and practical self-defense to children and adults. Her message is simple but powerful: “The goal isn’t to live in fear. The goal is to live with awareness, confidence, and the ability to trust yourself.”

As Stacey explains, avoiding violence begins long before physical self-defense becomes necessary.

“Ninety to ninety-five percent of all self-defense scenarios can be avoided by pre-planning.”

That single statement frames our entire discussion.

Stacey explains that every attack begins with three elements: a predator, a victim, and an opportunity. Predators are looking for easy targets and easy opportunities, which is why awareness matters so much.

“You are what you look like. How you stand, how you walk. Eye contact is huge because remember, the predator doesn’t want to get caught.”

She encourages women to walk with purpose, maintain awareness of their surroundings, know where exits are located within seconds of entering a building, lock vehicle doors immediately, and always have a response plan before something happens.

“Have a plan. What am I going to do? Where are the exits? How am I going to get out of here?”

Throughout the interview, Stacey returns repeatedly to the importance of using your voice.

“When I teach women physical self-defense classes, I sometimes have issues getting them to use their voice. They feel, ‘I’m silly,’ or they’re shy. I need you to become a tiger or a lion because the guy that’s coming at you has a criminal mindset.”

One of the strongest themes of our discussion is learning to trust intuition. Gavin de Becker’s landmark book The Gift of Fear, was discussed and he argues that our instincts often recognize danger before our conscious minds do. “Trust your instinct. Trust your gut. It’s so important.”

She tells parents to teach their children the same lesson. “No is a one-word sentence. No means no. Say no and run.”

Rather than encouraging people to become fearful, Stacey wants them to become intentional. “I don’t want you to live in fear. But you need to be aware.”

We discuss numerous real-world situations that women encounter every day, including shopping centers, grocery stores, parking lots, gas stations, DoorDash deliveries, ride-share ser