On September 28th my buddy Jaydra Perfetti and I hosted Femm Fighting, a martial arts workshop for women & genderqueer martial artists. Our intention was to create community among those of us who may experience being gender minorities in the martial arts. The event was a lovely success: 15 of us gathered at Southwest Portland Martial Arts to train and play together. Attendees included teachers and practitioners of various martial arts, and even some brave folks who had never tried martial arts before. Some artists came from as far away as Seattle and Oakland to join us. We were so honored they made the trip!
While much of our time together was spent practicing, my favorite part of the day was the group discussion. Jaydra gave us a prompt, and we went around in a circle with our replies. I’d like to start this post by sharing a bit of what was said during our discussion:
First prompt: “What’s one challenge you face as a gender minority in a martial arts training space?”
Answers included: Fear, consent issues, not wanting to be triggered. Trouble feeling safe as a beginner. Managing men’s emotions. Feeling patronized. The feeling of not being taken seriously by men, or having to “prove ourselves” in male-dominated situations. People hitting us in retaliation during drills. Not feeling recognized for our skill level. Having our opportunities taken away or given to men. Getting told what to do by people who are junior to us.
Second prompt: “What would you like to see more of in your school?
Answers included: Acknowledging the emotional side of martial arts. Making things accessible for beginners, but still challenging and fierce. Playfulness. More 1on1 with other fem people. Sliding-scale inclusion. Guest instructors/workshops.Trauma-informed knowledge. Less hierarchy, more adaptation. Taking our social structures out into the world. Group open workout/conditioning opportunities. Meditation in tandem with practice.
Third prompt: “What do you love about your training?”
Answers included: Teaching and seeing students getting better. Crossover skills–when skills from one area of life are relevant to martial arts, and vice versa. Moments of relaxation. When the whole class is laughing and having fun together. Being in my body, feeling alive. Feeling like a badass. Playing games usually for kids in adult class. Watching the moment when someone “gets” something for the first time.
The discussion was eye-opening and healing. Many folks nodded in understanding as others shared how they’ve experienced gender discrimination as martial artists. We also laughed and nodded in understanding when we shared what we love about being martial artists. The discussion helped forge a deeper connection among us.
The rest of the day was dedicated to training together. Here’s the flyer with the schedule of events, and a little bit more about the workshop:
The event started with an air of excitement and warmth. We began with an opening circle where we shared our names, pronouns, and martial arts history. Many of us had never met each other before, but once we got into warm ups, we were laughing, making friends, and having fun.
After warm-ups, Jaydra led our “hitting stuff” class, and did a great job creating a format that we could adjust to our own ability levels.
We then moved on to some open mat training, where folks could spar, push hands, or roll together. This part of the afternoon went by too fast– many of us agreed that next time we’ll need to allow more time for open practice.
After the event, many of us stuck around to go get food cart dinner together. Having this casual time together post-training was delightful. We shared jokes and stories, talked more about our schools and lineage, and made plans for training together more in the future.
We are planning to make Femm Fighting a twice-yearly event in Portland. Our next event is tentatively scheduled for May 17, 2025. If you would like to attend, or if you have any questions, please send us a message at femmfighting@gmail.com.
We hope to train with you in the future!
Michelle Folk Johnson 