NWMAF September Newsletter

Board Updates

We were delighted to welcome a new Vice-Chair, the talented and accomplished Monica Villanueva, this month (see below!) We’re equally excited to have several nominations for Youth Coordinator. Because there are multiple candidates, we’ll be sending out ballots and candidate info for the Youth Coordinator position during the month of October, so watch this space!

We’ve also been fortunate to receive some inquiries about potentially taking on the crucial Treasurer position, which, as a reminder, we must fill by November 1st in order to continue as an organization. While we don’t have any official announcement on a Treasurer as of yet, we are truly grateful to those who have taken the time to even consider stepping forward. We hope to have more news regarding the Treasurer position soon.

Lastly, we still very much need both a Marketing Coordinator, and an Events Coordinator. The latter in particular will be critical in order to hold next year’s Conference. This year, our Fundraising Coordinator, Diane Wallander, served double duty as Events Coordinator (and did a wonderful job!) but this isn’t something we can ask her to repeat. If you or someone you know might be interested in taking the lead for a 2026 Conference, you will have the support and backing of a hard-working, devoted, and experienced planning team. Reach out to chair@nwmaf.org to inquire!

Board meetings are held on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 3pm Eastern/2pm Central and all members are welcome to attend. The next meeting will be Sunday, October 19th. Click here for the Zoom registration link for 2025 meetings!

Meet the Board Member: Monica Villanueva

New NWMAF Vice Chair Monica Villanueva began her martial arts journey in 1983 with Tae Kwon Do and later embraced Danzan Ryu Jujitsu while attending the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). After graduation, she joined the US Peace Corps in the Philippines, assigned to the Department of Agriculture, where she spent her free time teaching self-defense. Upon returning, Monica balanced a career in the food industry with her passion for martial arts, earning an M.S. in Food Science from UlUC.

She founded and served as head instructor at the Kodenkan Academy of Martial Arts in Thornton, Illinois, to promote Danzan Ryu Jujitsu. Currently, she supports programs at Chicago Minami Dojo under Shihan Diane Wallander. Monica holds a 4th Degree Black Belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu through the American Judo and Jujits Federation (AJJF), as well as 1st Degree Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do and Hakko Ryu Jujitsu. She is also certified in the Okazaki Restorative Healing Arts and skilled in boxing, kickboxing, and Judo.

With extensive experience teaching community workshops, Monica focuses on children’s personal safety, women’s self-defense, and first responder restraint tactics. She has hosted numerous AJJF events, including a National Danzan Ryu Jujitsu Convention in Chicago, Midwest regional clinics, and local community programs. Notably, she served as a Judo visually impaired athlete guide for the USA Paralympic team at the Kodokan in Tokyo.

In leadership roles, Monica serves on the AJJF Council of Senior Instructors and acts as Scribe for the AJJF Executive Committee and Board of Professors. She is also an active member of the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF). Monica’s dedication to martial arts and safety continues to inspire and empower communities locally and beyond.

Website Update

Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, we have been able to hire a consultant to audit, update and fix the NWMAF website. We are very excited about this, but until the process is completed, please do not update any content on the current site. For example, we would hate for a member to update their profile and then have it overwritten. We’ll let you know when this process is finished!

Reminder: Join Us on WhatsApp!

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, members can now join our permanent WhatsApp group here. Please note that in order to keep an organized environment, administrative approval and verification is required to join, which may take 24-48 hours.

If you have any issues accessing the WhatsApp, or need to update your contact information for verification, our Website Administrator, Magnolia (Lia) Schnirman Barría, is happy to help. (Please make sure to include the phone number you are joining with and try to set your Whatsapp username to your name.) You can also reach out to her if you would like an announcement made to the WhatsApp. Please email her at: digital@nwmaf.org.

Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) News

The September meeting featured a great presentation by Kage Johnson on Restorative and Transformative Justice and the parallels with ESD. Our October 13th meeting will focus on human trafficking, presented by a member who offers ESD to survivors of sex trafficking.

Our monthly ESD Community Meetings (open to all – not just NWMAF members) are held the 2nd Monday of every month from 4 to 5pm (EST) unless a different time is noted. Once you have registered for the ESD Community Meetings you will receive the Zoom link on the morning of the session. Please extend the invitation and registration link to anyone interested in participating: Zoom registration link

Martial Arts Update:

The next online training will be: A Self Worth Defending – How Bonobos and Empowerment Self Defense Can Help Us Respond Collectively to the Challenges of Our Times. (See graphic below for more details!)

Led by: Diane Rosenfeld

Sunday Oct. 26th, 3:00 – 4:00 EST

Zoom Registration Link

Registrants will receive a free pdf of the book chapter!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Update

Dear NWMAF members & allies,

Join us on October 12 as NWMAF’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee hosts its monthly conversation. Whether you’re already part of NWMAF or are just curious to learn more — we want to see you there!

What to expect:

• An open space for sharing and listening to experiences around DEI in martial arts, self-defense, and healing arts

• Opportunities to coalesce ideas, raise questions, and explore actions that strengthen inclusion and belonging in our NWMAF community

• Insightful perspectives from members, non-members, practitioners, and allies

Why you should come:

• To connect with others committed to equity, justice, and inclusion

• To help shape NWMAF’s direction and create a more welcoming space for everyone

• To leave feeling heard, inspired, and energized to help improve our community

Details:

🗓 When: October 12, 2025 at 1 PM Eastern / 12 PM Central / 11 AM Mountain / 10 AM Pacific

📍 Where: Zoom link

🤝 Open to: All — members, non-members, and allies

Your presence will make a difference. Let’s gather, converse, and move forward.

Imperfectly,

Shay Mooster, DEI Coordinator

Here are the next DEI meetings for 2025:

Member-Submitted News: New Book Alert!

by Lifetime member Zosia Gorbaty

The summer of 1982 is probably one of the most memorable and life-changing times of my life.  It was the summer I attended my very first National Women’s Martial Arts Federation Special Training camp. I had received my black belt that past winter.  The thought of meeting many more female black belts, and even attending classes taught by other women was very exciting.  At that time, female black belts were few and far between. I had been training almost exclusively with men for the past six years. I looked forward to this new experience. The camp did not disappoint.  Indeed, I was introduced to a Sister Warriors Tribe of amazing women, many of whom are still my friends today, like Master Jaye Spiro and Master Dragonfire.

The camp of 375 women was held in Provincetown, Mass.  We all stayed at the Holiday Inn and ate all our camp inclusive meals at the Chinese Restaurant (egg foo young for breakfast).  We wore our uniforms all over town, training at the beach and City Hall. I had a fantastic time and knew this was just the start of a long relationship!

Much has happened since those days.  Martial Arts have gained popularity on a huge scale, and now a school with several female black belts or one operated by a woman is not uncommon. Since 1982 I have attended numerous NWMAF summer camps all around the U.S.  I am a Lifetime member and have been a trainer at more than a dozen camps. I served as Board Chair from 2002-4 and have been certified as a Self Defense Instructor.  

I am very excited to announce the publication of my memoir, In Black & White.  It should be available on Amazon this October.  For those of you who do not know me, I am married to my martial arts teacher, GM Chaka Zulu, founder of the Zujitsu Martial Arts system. As the book’s back cover says, “This is the story of a Black man from Harlem descended from slaves and his wife, an immigrant Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors. Both martial artists, they have been together since 1981 and have over 125 years of martial arts training combined. In this book, they relate what unique challenges and experiences they have faced, both individually and as a mixed race couple.”

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.