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NWMAF August Newsletter
News and Updates from NWMAF<!–
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August Newsletter
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Sensei Carol Middleton
August Reflection
As summer 2026 winds to a close, we hope you’ve had a lovely season full of new adventures, training opportunities, and — if possible — relaxation. Whether you’re returning from a holiday, heading back to school, or simply working and training hard as ever, we’re grateful for you, and grateful to be together on this journey of growth and strength.
Our summer has been busy and productive, with the amazing Chicago training hosted by Thousand Waves and the transition to the (mostly) new Board. However, like many of our members, we were saddened to hear of the recent passing of one of NWMAF’s founders, Sensei Carol Middleton. Our connections run deep in this organization, with members building strong camaraderie and lifelong friendships. Sensei Middleton touched many lives, and her loss is felt throughout our community. Many thanks to Lauren Taylor, who graciously contributed a memorial piece for this newsletter. Our thoughts are with her, and with all those who loved Sensei Middleton.
Board Updates
This month, the newest Board members have been settling in, learning the ropes, holding their first meeting, and looking toward the final NWMAF Weaving Strength regional training of the year. We’re so appreciative of everyone who’s stepped forward to fill these vital roles!
Board meetings are held on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 3pm Eastern/2pm Central. The next meeting will be Sunday, September 20th. Any NWMAF member is welcome and encouraged to attend. Click here for the Zoom registration link for the remaining 2026 meetings!
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Register for Weaving Strength Northeast!
In case you missed it, registration is now open for Weaving Strength Northeast (aka Weaving Strength New England) — with Early bird pricing of 10% off registration fees until the end of today (August 31st!)
The training will take place October 3rd-4th in Providence, Rhode Island at Providence BJJ. Register here (or by using the QR code in the poster below!) Come learn, train, support our fantastic instructors, and build community with us!
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Image from Professor Zahalea Anderson’s session at Weaving Strength Chicago
Martial Arts Update
From our fabulous Martial Arts Coordinator, Emily McKee — now that summer’s winding down, we’re looking for instructors for online trainings! And we need YOU!
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Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) News
We’ve gotten exciting news from our new ESD Coordinator Rachel Piazza! Anna Holmes, writer and founder of the website Jezebel, will have an upcoming article in The Atlantic about ESD. She interviewed our own former ESD Coordinator Clara Porter and will be including some of Clara’s insights in the article. With any luck, we’ll be able to welcome Anna to an upcoming monthly ESD Community meeting to talk about her work — we’ll keep you posted!
Our monthly ESD Community Meetings (open to all – not just NWMAF members) are held the 2nd Monday of every month, generally from 4:00-5:00pm (EST). These sessions are open to everyone interested in Empowerment Self Defense. Please extend the invitation and registration link to anyone interested in participating. Zoom registration link for the monthly ESD Community Meeting.
Remembering Sensei Carol Middleton
Sensei Carol Middleton, a founder of NWMAF and a fixture at annual camps, passed away on Aug. 11. She was 78 and a 7th dan in her primary art, Tae Kwon Do.
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Sensei celebrating the marriage of her student Lauren Wheeler to her partner Deyanira Bautista in 2004
She was among the very few founders of the organization who continued training over the decades. She started martial arts in 1968 with Jack Hwang in Oklahoma; continued in 1973 with Sang Kee Paik in Madison, Wisc., when she moved there for her studies in Microbiology, Bacteriology and Exercise Physiology; and moved to Washington, D.C., in 1975 to train with Ki Whang Kim, who was Dr. Paik’s teacher.
Sensei Carol took up martial arts when very few women in the U.S. were able to study it — women weren’t welcome in most dojos. She trained for 58 years, and set rigorous standards for herself, including that she was at the gym almost every day at 5 a.m.
When she moved to D.C., she founded the Women’s Self-Defense Karate Club, which became the D.C. Self-Defense Karate Association (DCSDKA).
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Sensei granting a black belt to Janet Harris, 1997
In addition to her exacting requirements for herself and her students, Sensei Carol stood out in several ways:
She was a pioneer in what we now know as Empowerment Self-Defense. She was committed to women’s empowerment and safety going back to her first days in martial arts, and she had a practical self-defense curriculum that accompanied DCSDKA’s martial arts curriculum at every belt level.
She was unusual among heads of schools, most of whom guard their styles closely. Sensei Carol studied many other martial arts and approaches to self-defense, and often brought in other leaders in their styles to teach her students. Among the styles she sought out were Aikido, boxing, yoga, IMPACT, Krav Maga, jiu jitsu, Kidpower, Crisis De-Escalation Training, and Last Resort firearms defense training. She was the first president of IMPACT International, and she founded and directed Krav Maga DC starting in 2001.
Well before it was considered a standard approach, Sensei Middleton fostered a culture of inclusion, both in how students worked with one another and in accommodating students with various challenges. She also maintained a fund to ensure that the school’s children could continue to train even if their families faced financial hardship.
Nancy Lanoue, a 7th dan who’s been involved in NWMAF since 1987, was deeply affected by Sensei Carol’s focus on learning: “Of her many admirable traits, Sensei Carol’s commitment to being a lifelong learner is the one that most positively impacted my own development as a teacher. At our annual camps, year after year, she not only offered masterful classes herself, but trained right alongside the rest of us, unlike many of her peers,” says Nancy, who leads her own dojo, Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense in Chicago. “Her uninhibited delight at learning new things led to the expansive knowledge base and repertoire of skills that so many of us who follow in her footsteps will always remember.”
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Sensei Middleton at the 1995 camp, “Circle of Strength: The Power of Collaboration,” hosted jointly by the NWMAF and the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists (PAWMA).
In her personal life, Sensei Carol enjoyed keeping rabbits and birds. She visited the azaleas at the National Arboretum every year. She was notorious for her love of the color pink: When not in a martial arts uniform, she dressed head to toe in pink, including her sunglasses and fanny pack.
Sensei Carol’s husband died in 2024. She is survived by hundreds of Tae Kwon Do students and thousands of self-defense students, all of whom credit her with changing their lives. She’s also survived by the many, many feminist martial artists and self-defense teachers whom she helped find their own paths.
Her students are organizing a memorial service for her in Spring 2027. We’ll be sharing that information when it’s available here in the NWMAF newsletter. To keep up with the info and more, go to CaringBridge.org and look for Sensei Carol’s page.
Check Your Website Profile!
Members can “opt in” to show up in the NWMAF’s member directory and/or our instructor directory. If you’re not displayed and you would like to be, simply log in to your account. It will immediately take you to a screen where you can select Update Profile.
Guidelines for Member-Submitted News
We love hearing from you! Do you have news related to your practice in one of our three strands — Martial Arts, Healing Arts, or Self Defense? As an NWMAF member, you can submit material to be featured in our newsletter and/or on our social media pages! We love to share member news, photos, events, and brags! To contribute material to future newsletters, please send details to Isabelle Lombardo (secretary@nwmaf.org).
The requirements are: (1) Items must be member news/announcements, and be consistent with NWMAF mission and values. (2) Items that could be considered promotions of goods or services for sale (e.g. books, paid workshops, etc), are limited to 2 posts and/or newsletter items per member per year. (3) NWMAF cannot “endorse” member products or services.
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