Les femmes de la Djihene Academy

While mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions were legalised in January 2020 under the mandate of Roxana Maracineanu and the sport is booming in France, Djihene Abdellilah, a multi-titled grappling and MMA champion, still receives little media coverage given the importance of her work. Committed to issues such as the eradication of gender and sexual violence, she opened the Djihene Academy in January 2021 with the support of the Villeneuve-la-Garenne town council.

We followed the lessons in the gym of the Jules Verne school, where Djihene explained that she wanted to «give women the confidence and desire to practise martial arts, take them out of their usual environment and create projects with them». We meet a group made up entirel of women from the Ile-de-France region, of all ages and levels. Once a week, these women practise a range of martial arts, grip and percussion sports in a friendly atmosphere. Our discussions with the participants revealed the politicisation of the body and its reappropriation through the practice of unisex martial arts. Some of them discover or exploit their strength through real-life situations, ground exercises, tackles and falls. They often worked in pairs. A number of participants have told us how surprised they are at their ability to «return an opponent’s strength more intelligently and effectively».

These real life scenarios can be found on the social networks of Djihene, who now has 126,000 followers on Tik Tok, where she teaches different techniques to women who want to defend themselves. The Djihene Academy also gives them a space where they can discuss everyday issues while practicing a sport. We were surprised to find children there, always a welcome addition for mothers without child care facilities. The sense of sisterhood and self-confidence that comes from the training sessions encourages the participants to invite their friends, daughters or sisters-in-law to join them. The classes at the Djihene Academy are a way of regaining control of one’s body, pushing one’s limits and controlling one’s strength, while at the same time addressing the invisibility of women inmartial arts and patriarchal injunctions.