My Journey from Self-defense to Sound Journeys

I’m Brigitte Schulze Martinez, and I founded 3 Rivers Defense in 2009, after decades in martial arts.

For over 17 years, I was committed to providing research- and evidence-based self-defense coaching.

My focus was on holistic, trauma-informed training, based on our instincts and intuition.

I am a SPEAR ® self-defense trainer, an Evidence Based Scenario Trainer, and a Be Your Own Bodyguard ® coach, all certified by Blauer Tactical Systems.

In addition to being a self-defense coach, I am also a certified sound practitioner, and I have been thrilled to provide gong baths and sound journeys as part of our holistic wellness program. My love for gongs was kindled over 4 decades ago.

After years of going back and forth between Montana, USA, and Patagonia in Chile, my husband José Luis’s home, my husband and I moved back to Montana in 2024.

Looking back to 2025, my overwhelming emotion is gratitude for our Blauer Tactical, Inc. worldwide training community, for my worldwide gong and sound journey community, and for our self-defense and sound journey clients. Over the course of last year, I pivoted more toward our sound work.

For 2026, I have decided to focus primarily on sound journeys and the travels connected with that path. José Luis and I just returned from Chile and Argentina where we added to our collection of traditional Mapuche instruments. In a few weeks, we’ll leave for an intensive sound medicine training in Mexico. And this summer and fall we’ll focus on offering sound journeys in Montana and on our travels.

Sound journeys are a potent anti-dote to stress and anxiety, facilitating the release of harmful thinking patterns and emotions and promoting calm and relaxation. Sound can restore and regenerate the parasympathetic nervous system which is often damaged by chronic stress.

We also use sound to access, process, and purge harmful emotions, thought patterns, and energies. After the cleansing, we return to a calming soundscape to relax, recuperate, and fill with gentle, nourishing energy.

The immersion in sound and stillness creates a sonic environment in which the nervous system can process energies and relax in a safe environment, allowing the body to restore its physiological and emotional equilibrium. This process is known as acoustic co-regulation, conducive to reorganization towards harmony and holistic health.

See, The Art of Meditating With the Gong, Vikrampal © 2025 and The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory, the Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, Stephen W. Porges © 2017

A calm mind is a fundamental component for all phases of effective self-defense - threat detection and avoidance, de-escalation, and fighting back as ethically, morally, and legally appropriate. That is why I integrated sound work in my self-defense toolbox. I am leaving self-defense work with deep respect for the integrity and effectiveness of the Blauer Tactical SPEAR ® self-defense system, its founder Tony Blauer and the worldwide team that I was privileged to have been a part of.

And now in 2026, as I move on, I will dedicate myself with the same focus to sound work. I hope you will join us on some of our sound journeys!

Next Sound Journey: 7pm, Sunday, March 22nd, 2026

Our next Bozeman, Montana sound journey will take place at 7pm, on Sunday, March 22nd, 2026

To reserve your spot, please RSVP by email to 3riverssoundjourney@gmail.com or Venmo $35.00 to @Brigitte-Schulze

This sound journey will include a purge to process, release, and banish negative, destructive energies. The energetic purge will be followed by returning to gentle sounds to relax and calm our bodies, minds, and spirits and to invite peaceful and gentle energy into our hearts and souls.

Thank you for your support and for your dedication to making the world calmer, safer, and more joyful for you and others!

Brigitte and the 3 Rivers Sound Journey Team

What our sound journeys are about

We focus on living life with harmony and joy.

Intentional sound can create a harmonious balance of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies.

It can provide deep relaxation, release, realignment, and restoration.

It can nurture joy, holistic wellbeing, and peace.