Conscious Combat Club

Are you ready to try breathwork?? Adriane is a breathwork and movement coach working exclusively with online clients. She trains in BJJ and MMA and has many clients training in combat sports including UFC strawweight Mallory Martin.  Check out my interview with Mallory for her take on what breathwork did for her anxiety.  Adriane and Georgia discuss:   How BJJ 'saved' Adriane a...

Chloe Maclean is a sociology lecturer, gender, embodiment and karate researcher and international karate athlete from Scotland.  Her research has explored how ideas of gender are negotiated, subverted, and embodied in the inter-bodily experience of mixed-sex karate training, and what lessons this can bring for developing gender equality in sport and society more broadly.   Chloe and Geor...

UFC Strawweight Mallory Martin and Georgia discuss how MMA has saved her life, how a therapist helped her overcome anxiety and the mind exercises she uses to train mental toughness. Mallory made headlines at UFC Fight Night 175. Following her comeback win over Hannah Ciphers reporters heard Mallory say "You Saved Me" to Hannah while still in the cage. When questioned about why she said that in the...

Daniela Welzel is a lifelong martial artist with a passion for embodiment. She is an Aikido Black Belt and Mindfulness teacher. She worked for 10 years as a police officer with the German Federal Police.  She then went to Israel for 2 years to explore meditation, working as Dojo Manager of The Integral Dojo and teaching Aikido in Israel and Palestine. She is now in Holland working as a Freela...

Somsurat (Som) Rangkla and Joanne (The Lioness) La are the founders of JS Muay Thai, a beginners Muay Thai program taught by women, for women.   Som trains and fights out of 8 blades Muay Thai, she has been doing Muay Thai for 5.5 years, she has 10 pro fights with 7 wins. She is a PT at women's only gyms. Jo is a fighter, PT and business owner. She also fights out of 8 blades and has a record...

Dr Alex Channon is a Senior Lecturer at Brighton University's School of Sport and Service Management. His research has explored the relationship between gender, sexuality and participation; the value of martial arts within physical education curricula; media representations of professional fighters; the construction of meaning around notions of ‘violence’ among martial artists; the provision of me...

Stephanie Rae is a Breathwork and Somatic Experiencing for Trauma Release Practitioner. She has been teaching Yoga and Breathwork for 11 years and has been a Reiki Master Teacher for 6 years She is a survivor of sexual trauma and has recently added Krav Maga into her healing practices. Steph and Georgia discuss:  The different ways Steph's trauma has manifested in her body  When Steph fi...

Solin Piearcy is 4x All American Wrestler and 2x National Wrestler. She has been wrestling for 11 years and is a strong advocate for body image issues.  Solin and Georgia discuss:  What is wrestling  Being a girl in a male dominated sport  Why Sol loves wrestling Sol's journey with eating disorders The relationship between wrestling and eating disorders Sol's research looking a...

Jasmine is an emergency room doctor and lifelong martial artist.  Georgia and Jas discuss:  Growing up training Shotokan karate  Using kicking, punching, sparring and training to channel anxiety Overcoming traumatic experiences Balancing being a doctor with training  Mental health for doctors during the COVID pandemic

Georgia interviews trauma survivor Shantelle Thompson. Shantelle is a mum, storyteller, athlete, speaker, educator, role model, mentor, facilitator and business owner. She is an activist and social entrepreneur who believes that actions speaks louder than words and strives to be the change she wants to see in the world. She is a x3 world champion in Jiu Jitsu, former National wrestling Australia A...

Georgia interviews Cathy Van Ingen from Brock University in Toronto, Canada. Cathy is a researcher looking at gender-based violence, boxing, trauma-informed physical activity, geographies of sport and physical activity, sport media, youth culture and sport for development.  Cathy founded Shape Your Life,  a free, non-contact boxing program for female-identified people who have experience...

In this episode Georgia interviews Shawn Desjardins from Mindful Martial Arts in Toronto, Canada. Shawn and Georgia discuss: The history of Brazilian jiu jitsu The origins of mindful martial arts Shawn's experiences as a childhood trauma-survivor training at big MMA gyms like Tristar Trauma-informed martial arts Guidelines to have a mindful martial arts club:  - Respect yourself. Respect your...

Anne Mathison is a somatic experiencing psychotherapist. She helps trauma survivors understand how their biology, sympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve have been impacted by their response to the trauma and works with them to develop strategies to feel safe once more.  In this episode Anne explains:  Somatic experiencing (SE) How animals respond to trauma An example of the SE approa...

Sonja is a badass female psychologist from Finland who stared taikwondo because it looked like fun when her son did it! She helps people increase their self efficacy, find resilience and ways to feel alive and cope with everyday life. She specializes in play therapy with children and families and workers affected by harmful stress who are on sick leave. In this interview Sonja shares  Her uni...

This week in Australia, gyms reopen after being closed for 3 months due to COVID-19. In this episode Georgia discusses some of the reasons why everyone is so keen to stop running and get back to martial arts - beside the fact that martial arts are obviously way more fun! ;)  Georgia uses the example of schizophrenia to explain that there are additional mental health benefits from combat sport...

April Dimase is an Australian woman with a history of family trauma and domestic abuse. She started kickboxing after being inspired by MMA fighters like Ronda Rousey and quickly fell in love with the empowering feeling of going to training.  Georgia and April discuss:  Kickboxing with a history of trauma Overcoming fears Body image and more!

The title pretty much says it all. In this episode Georgia reviews a review by Adam Croom called "Embodying martial arts for mental health: cultivating psychological well-being with martial arts practice".  Georgia explains how martial arts can add positive emotions, flow states, relationships, meaning and accomplishment to your life.  The TED talk about happiness vs meaning is here:&nbs...

Why did Georgia start The Fight Back Podcast? In this episode Georgia tells her Martial Arts Story and hints at some of the lessons she has learned in her journey so far.  The book Georgia mentions is called 'The Body Keeps the Score' by Bessel Van Der Kolk