Fighting words: Former MMA champ leads girls toward empowerment

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Teaching girls to fight is about more than self-defence, it’s about empowering them to find their voice and ask for what they want, says former MMA fighter Gemma Sheehan, on International Women’s Day.

The 2016 Pan American Games gold medalist gave up a career in the ring after injuries forced her out so she turned her attention to helping girls find their assertive voices in a world that so often encourages them to be timid and apologetic.

“Other than the fact that we’re literally fighting … we do actually practice how to be assertive with your voice,” she says.

“It is super out of their comfort zone. They have to look at somebody in the eye without fidgeting, without covering their arms in front of their chest or hunching their back.”

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She says girls often come to her class shy, afraid of not being liked and worried about how they look.

As they begin to realize they have the strength to flip someone onto their back, pin them on the mat and maintain control, they begin to find more confidence.

“You’re learning not to just look at your body as something that other people look at and judge on Instagram,” says Sheehan.

She says she crushed her own self-esteem and body image issues in high school when she started training for martial arts, as her focus shifted to getting stronger and doing well in her sport rather than what she looked like.

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With hundreds of girls coming through her classes each year, she’s witnessed the difference in the way girls and boys are conditioned even at a young age.

“Say we’re going to do a warm-up,” she explains. “The girls will all look at each other and be like ‘Do you want to go?’ ‘Oh no, it’s okay, whatever you want.’ ‘Um, are you sure?’ They look around and they don’t want to be the first to the plate.”

“Guys, on the other hand, they will just start doing it and they will try to rush to the front of the line.”
The difference she says is that the girls default to being passive, while boys are more comfortable with themselves and less concerned about insulting someone by asserting their own needs.

“Assertiveness should be at the forefront of any kind of women’s empowerment program,” Sheehan says.