Conscious Combat Club

Leading up to International Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, people and organizations around the world participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise awareness of trans and gender diverse people, address key issues for our communities and explore ways to promote active allyship. We hope that through promoting the full inclusion of trans and gender diverse people in martial a...

* TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ABUSE*  Bobbie Lewallen (she/her) has been practicing Muay Thai for 10 years. She is a survivor of sexual abuse from childhood to early adulthood Georgia and Bobbie discuss: · Starting Muay Thai at age 12 after being abused as a child · Growing up getting to training in a shady area as a young woman under 17 · The conflation of thinness with health and the difference...

Martina is a queer intercultural / international martial artist living in the US. Martina is a queer teacher, storyteller, & communication consultant. Martina is a commitment to women, children, the oppressed, all beings and our planet.   Georgia and Martina discuss: Martina's experiences facilitating self defense for feminists with disabilities in Germany  Historical lessons from se...

**Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault**   Sammy was a victim of rape and sexual assault, and she made the journey back into Jiu Jitsu   Georgia and Sammy-Jo discuss:  Close contact training problems and how to deal with it  Benefits of talking to trusted people about what has happened  Healing and how it can be difficult  Returning to competition How returning to training...

Nick Hoekstra is a doctoral student at the University of Kansas studying special education. He lost his sight at the age of eight and started wrestling in high school and practicing martial arts in college. Nick's career has focused on international development, especially around the promotion of special and inclusive education globally. He has lived and worked in five countries. Nick attributes h...

Muay Thai was the outlet that saved Mint from a life of street violence and rage. In this episode you'll hear how her stepfather introduced her to Muay Thai to help her deal with racist bullying.    Mint and Georgia also discuss:  Why Mint got breast implants and why she is having them removed Being a female fight photographer in Thailand  Mint's future plans as she returns to...

Dr Annette Drews is a Professor for Social Medicine who currently does research on the contribution of Martial Arts in trauma therapy. Due to an accident at 2 years of age, she continued to be accident prone throughout her life. She overcame the physical and psychological consequences of her traumas through awareness based movement practices such as yoga, aikido and Feldenkrais.    Georg...

Software developer by day, a vessel of life lessons and first-degree black belt jiu-jitsu instructor by night, Alex Ueda made his first foray into jiu-jitsu after attending UCLA, where he majored in physics. A self-declared "fragile perfect" in his schooling and career, through his training, he found uniquely life-affirming perspectives and powerful mindsets that eluded him through university and...

Les is the founder of Karate for Mental Health, a disability karate coach and author of Anxious Black Belt and The Dark Side of Karate. Les and Georgia discuss:  How karate helped Les Inclusivity in karate  Karate as a mindfulness practice  Why karate can be great for mental health  How to coach clients with hearing loss  The importance of creating community  The diff...

Alex and Laurien are two BJJ purple belts, active competitors and own a trauma informed martial arts and yoga school in Munich, Germany as well as Off The Zone, an online interactive platform where they help fellow martial artists to become trauma informed. Georgia, Laurien and Alex discuss: Both their journeys from suffering sexual harrasment under a coach to founding a trauma informed school&nbs...

Erik Hein has made a career out of teaching. He has taught martial arts, martial arts coaches, elite police teams, emergency services workers and more. Erik is incredibly knowledgeable in the world of motor learning and has written multiple books on the topic (though all in Dutch) and is currently writing a book about martial arts as therapy.  Erik and Georgia discuss:  How you can use t...

Rew Mitchell is the owner of Awakening Fighters. He supports and promotes female fighters around the world with the online database of athletes he created and maintains. Rew and Georgia discuss:  The sexualization of women in combat sports  How Rew, a male-identified person, came to create a data-base to empower female fighters Differences between male and female fighters  The uses...

Kristina Nikolaj is a retired debilitating anxiety sufferer turned breathwork facilitator focused on using the breath to take control of your life. Then she discovered more of her power through jiu jitsu.    Georgia and Kristina discuss: Kristina's experience with anxiety/self-esteem issues  Kristina's discovery of martial arts after never playing sports her whole life  Using b...

Dr Amber Tucker is an assistant professor of sociology, researcher, mixed martial artist, athlete, and coach. Her research explores the trauma that results from the intersection of gender, race and class.  Amber was one of the researchers involved with the 'Justice in Movement' project. A program for women of color involving trauma informed jiu jitsu, weightlifting and rock climbing. You can...

Jamie Marich, Ph. D. and Anna Pirkl, MFT both speak internationally on topics related to addiction, trauma, mindfulness, or recovery. They each hold belts from Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu and have personal experiences transforming their trauma through jiu-jitsu.  Their latest book is "Transforming Trauma with Jiu-Jitsu", a practical guide for survivors, jiu-jitsu practitioners and therapis...

Alvaro Fernandez is a Mexican black belt under Renzo Gracie and longtime student and teacher of 4 way psychology. Georgia met Al a few months ago when a student of his emailed Georgia saying he had helped her through trauma informed bjj. Georgia realised the gift the Al had in helping students practice visualisation and decided to help him set up an online business.  You can now officially wo...

Samantha is a full time police officer for St. Louis County Police Department and the new title she is about to add (due March 28th, 2022) is a Mom! She has been training Jiu-Jitsu for roughly 9 years. She majored in Criminology and Criminal Justice in college, and focused heavily on Human Trafficking trends while attending. Christina is an accomplished BJJ, fitness and nutrition coach. After grad...

Steve is a technology leader, process strategist, and advisor with 20 years of experience leading teams, building products, and growing companies.   He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the founder of BJJ Mental Models: one of the world’s top Jiu-Jitsu podcasts and educational resources.   Georgia and Steve discuss: The dangers of statements like "BJJ saved my life"&n...

  Briana Bowley is a Trauma Coach and a Martial Artist. Knowledgeable in mindset and embodiment practices for peak performance, having worked with and alongside some of the world's most notable in their chosen field. As a Martial Artist Briana dabbles in Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, and Wrestling. While working with extreme sports athletes, including many combat sport athletes, she came to real...

Danae Hudson (Co-owner of Valley Self-Defense, Civilian, and Kids Instructor) has been training in Krav Maga for 4 years. Danae was looking for a self-defense class after some traumatic experiences in her life and work in the Middle East. Though she only planned on attending for a few weeks, the community she found at Krav Maga Minneapolis and Valley Self Defense, as well as the confidence she gai...

Sarah is a Muay Thai fighter, trauma survivor, and the founder of the Women of Muay Thai Instagram page. She found muay thai as a form of therapy from childhood sexual abuse and it helped empower her to leave her abusive ex-husband. Unfortunately, she found that not all gyms provide the best environments for women - they’re male-dominated and not always guaranteed to have the insigh...

Today (November 25th 2021) is The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.    To increase awareness of the domestic violence prevalent in all communities, Penny McKay, graduate of The Fight Back Project, asked me if we could share her story today.    I want to make it very clear that Penny asked me if she could share her story in the hope that it might h...

Kylie is a Kenpo black belt and life long martial artist. She started training martial arts in her childhood and has trained in Brazillian JiuJutsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and MMA. She created the Brave Woman Page in 2015, to share the stories of girls who do martial arts from all around the world. On this episode of the Fight Back Podcast, Georgia and Kylie talk about the story behind the Br...

**Trigger Warning** - In this episode, we discuss addiction, abuse, rape and self harm. Like the title says, this story has a happy ending, but please honor your need for safety at all times while tuning in. Jo has now been in recovery from addiction for almost 10 years, been living a life free from unwanted violence and abuse for almost 4 years, owns a successful tattoo shop in Saint Catherine’s...

Erin Herle is a BJJ black belt who started the #submitthestigma campaign after she lost her father Robin Herle to suicide. Erin started training jiu-jitsu in the summer of 2009 after being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, and suffering bouts of depression. Today, Erin tours the world (not literally atm because, you know, the pandemic) teaching seminars loaded with humor and sprin...