Amman: Lina Khalifeh the founder of the first gym in Jordan ‘SheFighter’ has provided a specialised self-defence and martial arts training for women. The gym was founded in 2012 and praised by US President Barack Obama last year in a speech.
More than 3,000 women have been trained by SheFighter a stream of young women pour into the gym to learn self-defence and have fun. “She angry, SheFighter!” they scream at the end of each training session.
Khalifeh hosts workshops outside the capital Amman and at universities. She is aiming to expand further, opening more gyms, both in and outside Jordan.
The gym’s methodology combines classic martial arts techniques with self-defence and self-empowerment strategies, noting “Training in SheFighter has a bigger impact on women’s lives than 10 conferences on women’s rights.”
Khalifeh said she decided to begin teaching self-defence when she saw a colleague being physically abused by her brother. After opening the gym she was threatened by men in the area, but she has succeeded in spite of them. She says that women feel safe place.
SheFighter include participants as young as six, as well as older children who learns self defence and martial arts.