New website. New identity. A fresh start.
Because the term “women’s self-defense” never truly convinced us. It has always seemed reductive, and at times even tinged with sexism. It was time to choose a name that reflects us more accurately. Teaching these classes has always been a source of reflection for us. Teaching women to fight, to strike, to wrestle, to choke, to survive… but against whom? And for what purpose, exactly? Do so-called “female” or “for women” self-defense classes not, in the end, contribute to confining women within a narrow, controllable, and sexist framework? To what extent are women still excluded from the world of martial arts, a field largely shaped by a masculine and sexist culture? And what if these classes were, in reality, just another form of pinkwashing? A cheap, convenient band-aid for a much deeper issue: the glaring lack of real means to help, protect, and save women who are victims of male violence. Of course, we don’t have all the answers. And our group, enriched by its diversity of views, doesn’t always speak with one voice on these matters.
