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Our Goal is to Provide Ongoing Self Defense Workshops for Women of Color Year Round.  Help Us Kick-Off the Next Season of Workshops!

Sweaty Betties and Four Elements Fitness Join Forces

Two San Francisco Bay Area martial arts agencies with deep roots in community outreach and engagement are joining forces to help end violence against women and girls, particularly among low income girls and women of color. Sweaty Betties and Four Elements Fitness are collaborating to offer scholarships to our WOMEN OF COLOR SELF-DEFENSE WORKSHOPS starting in February 2019. Our goal is to provide free self-defense training for girls and women at FOUR Elements Fitness. We seek to offer girls and women in the community up to 20 scholarships per month over a period of a year.

The past couple years have been a turbulent time for women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ folks. Recently we’ve seen increased incidents that may have undermined our sense of safety: attacks on the LGBTQ community and immigrants, #MeToo reports of epidemic sexual harassment and assault for women in all sectors , a rise in intimate partner violence, as well as multiple mass shootings. Safety continues to be a growing concern for many marginalized people. But we are also taking a stand and fighting back, supporting each other, and in many cases triumphing -- as we did during the midterm elections with historic wins for women of color.

With this backdrop, it is clear that self-defense and martial arts training can be life-affirming and life-changing for many. Sweaty Betties’ mission has always been to unite, educate and empower a diverse community of women and girls in the martial arts. Four Elements Fitness has focused on making martial arts training accessible to LGBTQ+, female and POC students. These missions have never been more relevant or significant than it is right now.

With your help, we can continue our important work and make a real difference in our communities. We ask that you consider making a donation today to support our work to end violence against girls and women and help us achieve our budget. Any amount is appreciated.

Project Scope and Vision

Our goal is to provide free Brazilian Jiu-jitsu self-defense training for women at FOUR Elements Fitness. We seek to offer women in the community up to 16 scholarships per month over a period of a year. We aim to begin the program in 2019, provided we have sufficient funding.

Based on our estimate of the average cost of offering a one-day seminar plus administrative support for outreach and program expansion at our location, we believe we will require $2,000 to begin the project and $24,000 to sustain it over a period of one years. We are seeking your generous contribution to this effort and welcome donations of any size.

Instructor Molli Khangsengsing

Mollii is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under 9x World Champion Leticia Ribeiro with 11+ years of training in BJJ. She is the founder of the Sweaty Betties, one of the first group in the country to offer free, weekly BJJ training to women, and a co-founder of Tuff Love Fitness Collective. In 2010, she organized one of the largest women’s grappling camps in the country featuring several World Champion instructors, drawing attendees from all over the world. Since then, Mollii has run BJJ camps in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Maui and Costa Rica.

In addition, Mollii has over 8+ years of experience teaching BJJ, self-defense, Ginastica Natural and circuit training with a specialization in women’s and girls self-defense.

As a lifelong athlete, Mollii understands how sports and physical activity can change one’s life for the better. She first immigrated to the U.S. as a young child, and it was through her love of sports that she was able to quickly adapt to a new country and language. When Mollii isn’t teaching or training, you can find her slurping on a giant bowl of ramen noodles or climbing up the nearest coconut tree.

Self-Defense Instructor Lori Bruzenas

Lori Bruzenas is a certified Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Professor Luis Heredia.  She has nine years of experience teaching children and eight years of experience teaching women’s and adult classes, specializing in self-defense. She has taught self-defense training at the first-ever Women’s Jiu-Jitsu Camp in Capetown, South Africa as well as other self-defense seminars in Maui, HI.  She also has several years of experience competing, organizing and helping with Jiu-Jitsu tournaments and camps. Currently, Lori teach Jiu-jitsu and women's self-defense classes and workshop in Oakland, CA.

Sweaty Betties

Sweaty Betties was founded in 2008 by a small group of martial arts women who were united by their passion, shared beliefs, values and aspirations.The original members began as white belts. But through persistence, sweat and hard work those white belts are now purple, brown and black belts! Now we are students, competitors, teachers, coaches, mentors, gym owners and leaders in our community.

"While so many parts of our cultures teach women that they are valued for how they look, Jiu-Jitsu teaches women to value what their bodies can do."  Those words encapsulate their core beliefs which guided them ten years ago and continue to guide them now. The Sweaty Betties have organized numerous events, workshops and classes throughout the US and beyond with the goal of educating, sharing self-defense and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and creating strong and positive communities, particularly among girls and women.

For over a decade, the Sweaty Betties has helped girls and women reach their potential, find their personal power and discovered what their bodies are capable using the martial arts and self-defense platform. They’ve instructed many self-defense workshops to girls and women, including marginalized communities such as the African American and the Muslim communities. In addition, they offer weekly free women’s Jiu-jitsu classes as well as volunteered their time teaching Jiu-jitsu to kids at a non-profit gym in Oakland, CA.

FOUR Elements Fitness

Founded in Oakland, CA in 2014 by two female martial artists, Sharon Sanghera-Sidhu and Shawn Tamaribuchi, FOUR Elements Fitness is dedicated to building community strength through martial arts and fitness. The gym’s programs and services enable individuals to realize their potential, connect with others, and become healthier in body, mind, and spirit. As a martial arts gym with an orientation towards social justice, Four Elements Fitness regularly holds fundraisers, participates in community events, and provides free self-defense seminars for at-risk groups.

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