The Women Who Fight Podcast

Rosi Sexton was is a Mixed Martial Artist and the first British female fighter to compete in the UFC back in 2013. She is also a Cambridge graduate with a PhD in Computer Science, and now works as an Osteopath and is the Green councillor for Solihull.  Hosts: Shanti & Marina Guest: Rosi Sexton Podcast Editor and Music Producer: Will Grant

Simona is an MMA Fighter based in London. She started training Muay Thai when she was 28 and was training MMA before women were in the UFC. She has seen the evolution of MMA as a sport for women, and we are excited to share our conversation with her about her experiences.  Hosts: Shanti & Marina Guest: Simona Soukupova Podcast Editor and Music Producer: Will Grant

Irini Hadjisavva is a scientist skilled in biomedical research, digestive health, the gut microbiome, science communication, lecturing, teaching and corporate wellness. Irini has worked and collaborated with scientists in the field of biology and has carried out research, published and presented work on thyroid disease and pathways of resistance to chemotherapeutic treatments for various cancers....

*Trigger Warning* This episode has content on human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Parts of this conversation can be upsetting, so please be emotionally prepared.  Jenna McKaye is a survivor of human trafficking with an incredible life story she now shares through advocacy groups throughout the US. McKaye's extraordinary journey offers hope that inspires others through educ...

Molly is a fighter and a young mother who caught our attention when she made an instagram post about how her training changed when she became pregnant, and how she no longer saw being a woman as a weakness, learning to create boundaries and accept limitations as she returns to training.    Hosts: Shanti & Marina Guest: Molly Lindsay Podcast Editor and Music Producer: Will Grant

Kylie is a Double Paralympian in wheelchair rugby and is currently training for the Tokyo Paralympics.  An Athlete, Show Jumper and aspiring olympian in her youth, Kylie experienced a life changing spinal injury when she was 18 and it only took her 3 years to return to sport and continue pursuing her dream. In 2006 Kylie returned to competitive sport by cycling 450 km, from Vietnam to Cambodia, to...

We had Tim Trevail with us for this episode talking about everything to do with injury, rehab and sustainable training.  Tim is the Program Director for Physical Health at Torrens University and private practice clinician in Melbourne, Australia. He is an experienced health and education professional with an extensive clinical and academic background in musculoskeletal healthcare.  Tim holds an ho...

Valéry Brosseau is a BJJ purple belt living in Toronto, Canada.  She is a passionate speaker, writer and mental health advocate. Her lived experience with mental illness has taken her on a journey to combat stigma through mental health awareness. Valéry delivers talks and workshops, raising awareness and offers 1:1 support equipping people with the tools and language to support others and manage t...

Lea Damata is a pelvic physiotherapist based in Canada and this is part 2! We cover perinatal care, incontinence, pain with sex, chronic pelvic pain and how pelvic physiotherapy with menopause. We were so pleased we could delve into these topics with Lea!  Hosts: Shanti & Marina Guest:  Lea Damata Podcast Editor and Music Producer: Will Grant

Lea Damata is a pelvic physiotherapist based in Canada. We wanted to know what this form of physiotherapy was and who it can help - turns out a lot! We focused on its implications for women health, but started with her own experience of concussion and the impact it has had on her life. She is a wonderful speaker and it was a real pleasure to have this chat with her/grill her with our questions! Th...

Following last weeks episode with Olivia on the women's movement in Pakistan, we interviewed Malaika who is a young woman from Karachi.  Hosts: Shanti & Marina Guest: Malaika Ahmed Podcast Editor and Music Producer: Will Grant

Olivia Qasir is a 27 year old filmmaker based in Lahore, Pakistan. Being of a mixed British/Pakistani heritage, her early schooling was in Lahore, after which she moved to London to study at SOAS and then King's College. Following her masters, Olivia took a short documentary course at City Academy with the intention to document the women's movement in Pakistan. Olivia made a short documentary film...

The information on sports performance (or indeed any research) has up until recently been taken from studies made on 18-22 year old men, with women being left out as they were considered an 'anomaly' in science due to their monthly hormone cycle. The consequence of excluding women from studies means that their findings don’t fully apply to 50% of the population.  Currently there is a lot of talk o...

We were delighted to have the lovely Ffion for this episode talking about body image. Ffion Davies is an elite BJJ female competitor who has won world titles as a black belt and is absolutely smashing it (in non-covid normal times).  Ffion made a post on instagram recently about her experiences as a woman and the insecurities and social expectations that come with it. We're all aiming to be comfor...

Founded by Sally Roberts in 2016, Wrestle Like A Girl is an Organisation with a mission to empower girls and women through wrestling. We spoke to Victoria, Jacque and Emma about their involvement and what we can do to help women's wrestling progress.  Hosts: Shanti & Marina https://www.womenwhofight.co.uk/  Guest: Victoria, Jacque and Emma https://wrestlelikeagirl.org/ Sound Editor and Song Writer...

We have known Hazel for a couple of years having interviewed her early on in the Women Who Fight journey and collaborated for an event in 2019. We revisit her now for our podcast to talk about her career as a kickboxer where she achieved impressive British, European and World Championships between 2008 and 2014. Her experiences during this time lead her to become a successful cognitive hypnotherap...

Jo Crowley started Ealing Judo Club 18 years ago, and still runs it to this day. She is a support coach of the GB Judo Team and coach of the Olympian Nekoda Davis. A 4th dan black belt in Judo, she is also a happy white belt in BJJ and a single mum of four. Jo sees coaching as a skill in its own right, and has worked tirelessly over her career to be the best for her students. We talk to her about...

This week we were joined by Katoucha, a friend who trains BJJ. Racism in the West is very much a reality, and the call to be actively anti-racist rang out loud and clear during the BLM protests last year. Within martial arts black people are heavily underrepresented, and although we would all like to think that the martial arts are apolitical and treat each of us equally, peoples' experience of ra...

This week we had the absolute pleasure of welcoming April to our podcast. April created the Vagina Blog which is creating a community for women, at the core of which is body positivity, education and breaking taboos around the female form. April is also a doula, photographer and birthing assistant to a midwife.  Hosts: Shanti & Marina https://www.womenwhofight.co.uk/  Guest: April Davis http://the...

On this weeks episode we invited Chloe Moore to join us to discuss her experience as a transgender person, particularly in relation to sport participation. Chloe is a BJJ competitor who started a women's only BJJ competition called Fight Like a Girl.  Please check out our other episodes on our youtube channel or for audio please visit Spotify or the iTunes Podcast app *There is some swearing durin...

This week we are speaking with Louise who is a sufferer of Endometriosis and will be telling us about her unique experience of the condition. We recently made a podcast about this topic with Endometriosis UK (episode 18) which provides more detailed information. It was a privilege to hear Louise's experience of endo, we hope you enjoy it! There is some swearing in this episode.    https://www.well...

Dr. Nikole MacLellan, (Dr. Kokes) is a Naturopathic Doctor, Registered Dietitian of Canada and Certified Sports Nutritionist. She focuses heavily on athletic and human performance optimisation and recovery. Dr. Kokes works with athletes from all sports and organisations including UFC, NHL, QMJHL, Olympics, AUS, AHL, GEL, Ironman. She has a strong passion for providing athletes with the foundations...

What is Endometriosis and why don't more people know about it? Endometriosis is a serious condition that affects 1 in 10 women, and takes an average of 8 years to get diagnosed. There are very few options for treatments and research is lacking to help the women affected by this condition, and according to an article in the Guardian more money has been has been spent on erectile dysfunction than en...

Moira Bradfield is a Naturopath, Acupuncturist, Academic and the founder of Intimate Ecology, which is a holistic health service based on the Gold Coast in Australia. Moira specialises in helping her clients achieve optimal vaginal health naturally. She is also an educator providing training on the vaginal microbiome, mentoring practitioners and running courses.  In this episode we asked every que...

Cathy “The Bitch” Brown is a former professional British boxer, being the 2nd female in the UK to receive her professional licence in 1998. She went on to become British and European Champion and ranked 3rd in the world.  Cathy was at the forefront of women’s boxing, her legacy being the rise of female boxers over the past 20 years. In her training she was regularly turned away from clubs, told sh...