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A group of trailblazing Kenyan women have started an initiative aimed at equipping themselves with skills to fight various forms of abuses that they suffer through martial arts.
As the world marked International Women’s Day, a group of trailblazing women in Kenya united for a common purpose of using sports to empower themselves.
Through the Kaizen Martial Arts Club Kenya, Femme Combat Fest was launched with the aim of using martial arts to nurture strength, resilience and camaraderie among women.
An initiative of Dr Catherine Kibuchi and Lona Abiero, Femme Combat Fest will bring together women from karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai, boxing, taekwondo, judo, kenpo karate, and Tong Il Moo Do to hone their skills while championing financial literacy, reduced inequalities, fight femicide and end menstrual shame.
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"I decided to start Kaizen as a way to empower women. We bring all female martial artists together to train on basics aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr Gibuchi, whose initiative is aimed at addressing the Sustainable Development Goals touching on gender equality and reduced inequalities.
“This is our Women’s Day special, it is going to be addressing the challenges that women face as mothers in martial arts and how do we support them as a country to ensure they pursue their sports in martial arts.
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“To do that, we have two kinds of registration, individual registration because some female martial artists are not members of any federation. They can do that at www.kaizenmartialartskenya.org the portal is open now and all athletes can register and we are also doing registration through different federations.”
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Following the launch of Femme Combat, female athletes from the martial arts federations as well as ordinary Kenyan women interested in gaining self defence skills have an opportunity to participate and learn from the three-day festival.
The festival, which will run from July 19-21, promises a journey of self-discovery, resilience, and empowerment to the participants who will leave it not only educated but also well equipped to handle the various forms of physical abuses suffered by women.
“We are mainly focused on financial inclusion, mental wellness, and female health,” added Dr Kibuchi.
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Besides these, the festival will also be an opportunity to educate the public about the stereotypes women in martial arts face.
"There is a backlash on female martial artists being violent. We lack investment in sports from parents and the absence of policies,” said Kenya Judo Federation secretary general Joan Githua.
“Martial arts is actually very tough on women. Women are the weaker gender in martial arts so we have to work twice as the men to make it,” said karateka Eve Wambui.
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As focus turns to registration for the Femme Combat Fest, women now have a great platform to embrace their inner warriors and rewrite the narrative of possibility.
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