On May 17th, 2025, Jaydra Perfetti and I hosted our second Femm Fighting at Southwest Portland Martial Arts. We had so much fun! This time around we had organizing help from Lark Pien and Shelby Scott, two wonderful local martial artists who also agreed to be our teachers for the day.
We were so glad to have five folks from Seven Star Women’s Kung Fu in Seattle join our event. They brought with them a spirit of joy and camaraderie that spread throughout the group. We also had a great group of local martial artists, including some returning attendees from the first Femm Fighting.
We opened the event by sharing our names, pronouns, and martial arts styles. Shelby also suggested we share our “Martial Arts Persona,” which added a fun element to the opening circle. Some of them were “Annoying Sibling,” “Superhero,” and “Sneaky.”
Shelby, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu teacher, led our first class. She showed us defensive maneuvering from the guard position that had us using our feet in ways most of us had never thought to. The moves were so new and fun that soon we were all rolling with laughter. Shelby taught at a great pace and answered our many questions with clear demonstrations and patience. Being in a room full of experienced, dedicated martial artists who had great control and thoughtful questions felt nourishing and grounding.
For our next class Lark, an internal arts teacher, led us through a breathing exercise that had us breathing in through the ground up into our bodies. This created a lovely connection in our bodies and a peaceful sense of togetherness as we stood and attended to our breathing together. Lark next led us in an exercise where we got to feel the subtle power that we tap into when we allow our joints to open. The power of the internal arts can feel like magic, and this joint opening partner exercise helped us feel internal force with each other in a tangible way.
After Lark’s class we took time for snack (yay!) and discussion (also yay!). Jaydra opened discussion by pointing out that the work of the martial artist is the same as the work of liberation and anti-oppression. As martial artists we are looking to know ourselves really well so that we can stand up for ourselves. We learn to cultivate our own awareness, power, and control so that we can use them effectively to make positive change in ourselves and the world around us. Jaydra posed 4 questions, one at a time, and we went around in a circle to offer our answers.
The discussion questions were:
- Martial arts learning is more often than not influenced by hierarchy. How can we adjust that system and structure to make sure each person’s value is recognized and appreciated, and the folks “at the top” are not raising themselves up by pushing others down?
- What are you doing to nurture your liberation and anti-oppression work:
- In your own heartspace?
- In your dojo or school?
- In the greater world or other parts of your life?
The answers from the group were wide-ranging and mind-expanding. Being in a group full of caring people who are doing the hard work of liberation was deeply inspiring. The discussion was meaty and thoughtful— you can read the full discussion notes here.
After our discussion, we stretched our bodies and headed into open mat and sparring time. I set the stage for open mat by going over expectations and how to make agreements with partners. At the last Femm Fighting folks felt that the open mat time was too short, so this time we allowed a little more time for open play. Much better! People practiced sparring, forms, jiu jitsu, and other martial arts partner exercises. I led this part of the event by calling 3 minute rounds with 2 minute breaks in between. We tend to be a chatty, social bunch, so the in-between round time allowed us time to recap and talk with each other a bit before going into our next fighting exercises. Everyone demonstrated good communication and good control—we had a safe and joyful open mat time.
After open mat, we circled up and closed out the event by saying our names and styles once more, and sharing something we were taking away from the event. After a short seated meditation, we closed out our group. Then, a group of us went to a delicious food cart dinner. What fun!
Our next Femm Fighting is planned for October 4th, 2025. We hope you will be able to join us!
Michelle Folk Johnson 