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NWMAF May Newsletter: Updates! Classes! Kudos! And more…
Pssst…one more day of Early Bird Pricing for Chicago!<!–
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May Newsletter
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May Reflection
Looking for a “May flower” image this month, I thought, what better flower than the thistle? The national symbol of Scotland (my second home), the thistle embodies resilience, strength, pride, and defense. She’s beautiful, joyful, and though some call her ‘prickly,’ I prefer to view her as ‘well-defended.’ Gotta love a flower with bite!
Board Update
As previously reported, we will be confirming several new board members in June. So much gratitude to those stepping forward, whom we’ll be delighted to introduce to members in the next newsletter!
However, our search for a new NWMAF Chair continues! The Chair position will become vacant at the end of July. I was able to meet up with our outgoing Chair, Connie Halporn, last week when she and several other NWMAF members attended the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame event in San Marcos, Texas. She has done a great job as Chair and will be missed! She’d also love to answer any questions about the Chair position, so please reach out to her at chair@nwmaf.org if you might be able to serve and keep this storied organization going strong!
Board meetings are held on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 3pm Eastern/2pm Central. All members are welcome to attend. In a slight deviation from our usual schedule, the next meeting will be Sunday, June 7th in order to avoid meeting on Father’s Day. Click here for the Zoom registration link for 2026 meetings!
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One More Day of Early Bird Pricing for Chicago!
The team at Thousand Waves is planning a fantastic Weaving Strength regional training, to be held in Chicago, July 24-26th. Early Bird pricing runs through tomorrow – June 1st – so register now!
CLICK HERE to view the amazing roster of instructors, and the registration link!
CLICK HERE for details on the schedule and classes.
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Save the Date: Weaving Strength New England
We’ve just confirmed the date information for this fall’s New England Weaving Strength event! It will be held in Providence, Rhode Island on October 3rd & 4th at Providence BJJ. The event is open and welcoming of women, transgender and non binary youth and adults. Mark your calendars — more details to come!
Martial Arts News
George Schorn will be leading a session on Teaching Protest Safety and Efficacy on Sunday, June 7th at 5:00pm Eastern time/4:00pm Central. This is a popular and timely topic, and George has developed an excellent curriculum that lies at the intersection of ESD and activism. Registration link here!
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UMAHOF Conference and Tournament
As previously mentioned, numerous NWMAF members traveled to San Marcos, TX last week for the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame Conference and Tournament event, where they trained, taught, competed, and were honored for their accomplishments. Among other news, NWMAF members Connie Halporn, Michelle Golino (aka Master G!) and Stacey Legg were inducted into UMAHOF. Master G was honored as Woman of the Year, and both Stacey Legg and Dr. Cheryl Rock won medals in weapons and were appointed to the board. As a bonus/surprise, Diane Wallander was promoted to 5th dan in Taekwondo as well by Dai-Sensei James DeBrow of the Fighting Tigers Group. Many congratulations, all!
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Master G, Diane Wallander, and Connie Halporn at UMAHOF 2026
Hand to Hand Update
In other Martial Arts news, there was positive word this month from Hand to Hand Kajukembo Self Defense Center about their fundraising efforts after being threatened with losing their space. As many know, Hand to Hand was founded by Professor Coleen Gragen, a luminary martial artist and instructor in whose honor our Coleen Gragen Award of Inspiration was founded. We were happy to hear that they will be able to remain in our current space for the next two years, while continuing to raise funds to prepare the future home they have secured and supporting their strong tradition of providing scholarships to keep training accessible.
Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) News
This month, Karen Chasen of Prepare, Inc. in NYC led a discussion of the book: Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes us Lose Ourselves, by Ingrid Clayton, PhD.
For more information, see the author’s website, publisher’s website, or a great article from the New Yorker Magazine (which does have a paywall unfortunately.)
ESD standing committee update
We will be scheduling a follow-up meeting to continue to work together to create a standing ESD Committee for NWMAF.
Upcoming: Monday June 8th meeting
We’ll have a discussion/presentation on Trauma-informed Role Plays: how to plan and present them, and how to train others to do so as well.
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.
May ESD Certifications!
Juli Brown
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Join us in celebrating Juli Brown’s recertification as an NWMAF Certified ESD Instructor! Juli began her career as a social worker, supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault as a therapist, crisis responder, and legal advocate. She began training in karate and Krav Maga as a hobby in 2006 and has earned the rank of 4th degree black belt in karate. As she began helping at her martial arts school to teach classes, she witnessed the empowering impact learning basic self-defense skills could have – and she also recognized that traditional self-defense classes, especially for women, often amplified a sense of fear and vulnerability.
Juli sought to bring a feminist perspective and trauma-informed approach to teaching self-defense – which led her to discover the NWMAF. She received her ESD Instructor certification in 2016 and continues to offer ESD workshops across a variety of settings.
Juli lives in the Chicago area, and is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professional. This year she founded her own counseling practice, Empower Within Counseling Services, where she continues to specialize in helping women who have been impacted by trauma and abusive relationships. She frequently incorporates ESD principles in her clinical work to help her clients begin to trust their inner voice, set healthy boundaries, gain confidence, reconnect with their body, and to support their healing from past trauma.
Natalie Demaioribus
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Join us in celebrating Natalie Demaioribus becoming an NWMAF Certified ESD Instructor! Natalie is an expert facilitator, energetic and hands-on, with 11 years of experience teaching empowerment self-defense and a great sense of humor.
Before coming on board to run the self-defense program at RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center in Madison, Wis., she logged 650+ hours as a volunteer on their helpline. Natalie has a background in MMA and Brazilian jiu jitsu. She is a member of the Geological Society of America and loves languages, cooking, and cats.
Member Spotlight: Authors in NWMAF!
We are so proud of the many NWMAF members who continue to publish research and writing in our three pillar areas of Martial Arts, Healing Arts, and ESD!
In addition to Meg Stone’s recent release, Don’t Fight Back, which we highlighted in April, this month we’re proud to share news of two other titles — Odette Russell’s book I Am A SWAM Mini Lioness, Hear My Roar, and Tasha Ina Church’s newest title, Unshakeable. Please join us in congratulating these fellow NWMAF members on their accomplishments — and be sure to check out and support their work!!!
I Am A Swam Mini Lioness, Hear My Roar
Martial artist Grandmaster Odette Russell, also known as SiDaGoo, and one of her black belts, Sifu Crystal Banton, have co-authored the children’s book I Am A SWAM Mini Lioness, Hear My Roar. This empowering power word book is designed to help children and adults build confidence, courage, self worth, and a strong inner voice through simple, uplifting child-friendly language rooted in character, strength, and resilience. Readers can benefit by learning to believe in themselves, speak with confidence, face challenges with courage, and develop a positive mindset that can guide them through everyday life.
To order, message Odette directly through her Facebook group, SWAM Academy of Modern Martial Science.
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Unshakeable
In Tasha Ina Church’s new book (launching June 9th!) readers don’t just watch the characters face difficult situations. They learn alongside them:
How to recognize danger before it escalates
How to set boundaries
How to navigate bullying and harassment
How to de-escalate conflict
How to intervene safely as a bystander
How to trust intuition under pressure
How to respond during violence
How to heal after the fact
Designed for teens but powerful for educators, mentors, counselors, and parents alike, Unshakeable is more than a graphic novel. It’s a conversation starter. A teaching tool. A layered mystery, grounded in the real challenges young people face every day.
Avaiable for pre-order at ElleLiveAction, and on Amazon from June 9th!
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Member Spotlight: Cynthia Bleil
Member Cynthia Bleil shared news of her promotion to Ni Dan, second degree Black Belt, in Shuri-Ryu Karate on March 22, 2026, by her Sensei, Sally Johnson Van Wright (Hachi Dan, 8th degree). Sensei Sally is the founder and lead instructor of The Leopard School of Martial Arts for Womenx and Girls. (Womenx meaning trans inclusive.)
Cynthia’s training history began with a few semesters of Shotokan Karate in the early eighties when she was in college. In 1993, she started training in Shuri-Ryu Karate at another dojo that was then a women-only space. She has been training with Sensei Sally and The Leopards for 2 ½ years after taking a nine-year break from the art. She also trains in and teaches Empowerment Self Defense and Modern Arnis. Many congratulations to Cynthia on her promotion, and thanks for sharing it with us!
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Cynthia Bleil (right) with Sensei Sally Johnson Van Wright
Healing Arts Update: Contributors Sought
Speaking of NWMAF members’ prodigious publishing prowess — here is an opportunity for the research-minded among us! Our Healing Arts Coordinator, Ashlyn Johnson, is seeking collaborators for an evidence-based position paper on the healing potential of Martial Arts and ESD, pulling together the three pillars of NWMAF as healing modalities. The paper is to be evidence-informed, grounded in peer-reviewed research, and designed for minimal volunteer burden.
For those who don’t know, Ashlyn is a nurse practitioner, assistant professor of nursing at Miami University in Ohio, and longtime martial artist. She has over 15 years of experience in the nursing field and maintains active clinical practice as a dual certified family and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner working with many patients suffering from PTSD. Her research interests include mental health, particularly related to trauma and resilience. Ashlyn has studied various martial arts systems for the past 25+ years, with a current focus on Kali and Silat. For more info on this project, please reach out to her at healingarts@nwmaf.org.
Grant Opportunity: Amber Grants
Our Development Coordinator, Diane Wallander, has shared a potential opportunity for our members who are also business owners: Amber Grants for Women. From their website:
“WomensNet founded the “Amber Grant” in 1998. The grant was set up with one goal in mind: to honor the memory of a very special young woman, Amber Wigdahl, who died at just 19 years old — before realizing her business dreams. Today, WomensNet carries on that tradition, proudly giving away at least $30,000 every month in Amber Grant money.
In recognition of the diversity of businesses owned by women, we’ve also expanded our grant-giving to include “Startup Grants,” “Business Category Grants,” as well as three “$50,000 Year End Grants.” Applying is simple. Just take a few minutes to tell us about yourself and your business dream. No long, complicated forms to fill out. Submitting one application makes you instantly eligible for all grants related to your business. We announce the grant winners by the 21st of the following month.”
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Check Your Website Profile!
Another reminder that members can once again “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.
Join Us on WhatsApp!
Just a reminder that we now have a permanent (not just conference-related) NWMAF WhatsApp group, which will be particularly helpful to join ahead of regional trainings!
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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 Tasca Shadix (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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