Punching Up: Falls Church’s ‘Community over Competition’ Empowers, Protects Women
Talk about punching up!
Community Over Competition (COC) – a newly launched nonprofit Falls Church foundation of women mixed-martial arts (MMA) fighters and students who partner with area gyms and instructors to provide free intensive self-defense courses for women and girls ages 12-and-up, as well as free sparring sessions for women – raised $5,596.99 for Destiny Rescue in their Aug. 10 Charity “Smoker” at Kaizen MMA in Falls Church, the group’s CEO Crystal Heise told The Falls Church Independent.
Destiny Rescue is a “global Christian non-governmental organization (NGO) that has restored hope to thousands of children enduring sexual exploitation and human trafficking through rescue operations and reintegration programming operated in regions throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America.”
Founded just last year in April, 2023, COC is dedicated to recognizing the “importance of equipping all women with the tools to defend themselves and navigate the world with confidence and resilience.”
By offering free, back-to-back, 3-month-long Essential Self-Defense Techniques classes covering everything from situational awareness to an eclectic mix of practical survival and defensive techniques from seasoned MMA instructors, COC seeks to educate “women of all backgrounds to reclaim their autonomy and feel empowered in any situation.”
According to COC, 50-60 percent of women are “less likely to get raped after completing self-defense courses”; 71 percent of women “alter things they want to do because of victimization concerns”; and, “those experiencing isolation are more likely to be victims of repeated abuse and harm.”
But, since men make up 73 percent of “combat sports participation,” new arenas for women MMA fighters and students were needed to allow women to train among themselves, in order to feel safe and avoid injury. So, COC “embarked on a mission to provide a space where female fighters from various gyms could come together weekly to spar, enabling them to hone their skills authentically and prepare realistically for upcoming challenges.”
But the dreams of the organization grew. “We are more than just a foundation,” COC proclaims on its website. “We are a movement dedicated to educating, uniting, and empowering women both inside and outside the ring.” So, the group also believes in “giving back and supporting causes that resonate with [their] values.” In January, COC “successfully raised nearly $4000 for Bethany House of Northern Virginia – “where women and children seek refuge from abuse and trauma."
The Falls Church Independent interviewed Community Over Competition’s Co-Founder and CEO Crystal Heise, and the COC’s Co-Founder and CFO, Ashley Ballenger, to find out more about the group’s founding, goals, and recent initiatives.
Interview with Co-Founder and CEO Crystal Heise, and Co-Founder and CFO Ashley Ballenger of Community Over Competition
Conducted Aug. 6, 2024, the following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
FCI: Just wanted to confirm your titles.
Crystal Heise: I’m Crystal Heise, CEO, and this is Ashley Ballenger, CFO. Though she’s not here, we also have Xena Thompson as our COO.
FCI: Can you tell me what your organization's all about?
CH: Yes. We have three main things we do. First, we offer free self-defense courses for women that are comprehensive in that they not only do physical self-defense but situational awareness and preventative training. We also offer online self-defense courses, run through Shawn Rafferty who’s donated his courses for free to our organization.
And our instructors are led by a coalition of different gyms. So, it’s hosted out of Kaizen MMA in Falls Church. We have Kaizen MMA hosting these self-defense classes, but the instructors come from Kaizen MMA as well as Rising Tide, High Tech which is in Maryland.
So, right now all the time is being donated for free by these instructors who come in.… But, we came together and realized one course, once-a-month, isn’t enough. In order for people to actually get this information ingrained into them, we need to do it more often. So, that’s the first thing we offer. The second thing we offer – which actually came first– are free sparring events for women. So this is more for our fight community. And we get all the women in the area, in D.C., in Maryland. We even have girls driving up from Richmond every month….
FCI: Are these closed events?
CH: All of it is open and the events are free. And part of why we’re running these sparring events is, first, in the martial arts community, we’re all fighters. And I’ve been in it for about 8 years now and one thing I’ve noticed is there are a lot of women, but they’re all scattered at different locations and gyms. So we never get the opportunity to actually work with people our size and to practice authentically our skills and in a space where I can hit as hard as I want and I don’t have to worry about a guy twice my size hitting me back, because, unfortunately, I’m going to get injured that way.
So, we’re trying to make sure people can stay safe, and they’re able to train and compete for as long as they want. So, we offer [the sparring] once-a-month. And, we opened it up for our girls who come to our self-defense classes. It’s a different targeted audience, but the point is, I’m trying to make sure our girls who come to our self-defense classes get a chance to meet the girls who come to the core fighters [group], who train regularly, because I think it makes a difference when you get to see that type of person. You’re like, ‘Okay, I can do that too!’ Just having that representation is huge. And it also kind of brings the community together.
And then the third thing we do is, we try to advocate for different organizations aligned with our vision. So, for instance, this Sunday [Aug. 11, 2024], we’re putting on a Charity Smoker. A smoker is essentially an exhibition match where there are no winners or losers. It doesn’t go on your record, but it’s a competition, in all the martial arts. But, we put it on to essentially give people the opportunity to practice and get better and understand what it’s going to be like to get in the ring, but not actually going into a real fight where it’s going to affect your record.
So, we’re putting that on for Destiny Rescue which rescues children who’ve been trafficked. They’re an NGO.
FCI: So, you do all sorts of martial arts?
CH: We have [Brazilian Jiu Jitsu] BJJ, we have wrestling, we have Muay Thai and we have boxing. So, we try to represent all the martial arts as much as we can. For our sparring events, it’s usually boxing, Muay Thai, and jiu jitsu. And then for self-defense, it’s a real mix of a lot of different things, combining practical knowledge that would actually help out in the streets.
Ashley Ballenger: And, I think the main thing too about our self-defense is we’re working on creating a curriculum that really goes beyond just one martial art. So, we’re taking knowledge from so many different instructors, people who aren’t strictly self-defense focused. They’re really creating a practical program.
And a lot of women go to martial arts gyms specifically to focus on self-defense and they’re told, ‘Oh, yeah, do a boxing class, or, do a kick-boxing class, or do jiu jitsu or wrestling.’ But, those are totally different styles. And, in reality, self-defense is so much more than what any of those styles can truly offer. You know, you can learn striking from kick-boxing and Muay Thai, or you can learn how to take somebody down by learning wrestling or jiu jitsu. But what if someone’s holding your arm in a certain way that’s against those martial arts rules and structure? What if someone’s pulling your hair? There’s really not a curriculum out there in Virginia, Maryland or any area gym that really offers the comprehensive self-defense aspect. So, what we’re doing is working to bring that whole area into a curriculum and make it available for the public.
FCI: So, you teach an eclectic mix based on situational awareness and what might arise in an attack?
AB: Exactly. The most practical forms of self-defense. When it’s out there on the street, you’re not thinking about points. You’’re not thinking about a basic jab-cross to the face kind of thing, you know? So, it’s really an adapted curriculum for people to incorporate what they might use that might be truly life-saving.
CH: ….We partnered with Bethany House in McLean back in January, and our goal is to offer these classes to women who’ve been in these situations and to do it in a location that makes sense for them.
And then, we also want to get our girls certified to teach the classes. And we gear it for these girls who’ve really sort of been in these situations, because typically people who are in these domestic violence situations, they may escape once, but [their attackers] typically come back. So, how do you address that? And how do you help those women?
So, our mission is to basically disrupt the cycle of trafficking and abuse. We try to disrupt it at the beginning of that cycle. We try to hit our target audience. We’re trying to really make sure this program is free, that it’s not just what you expect in the street or just being aware of your surroundings so you’re not taken by surprise. What happens when it's somebody you know? So, not only are we trying to teach you the physical skills, we’re trying to give you the confidence and have a community to support you, to get out of that situation too.
FCI: So, the people in your classes then get certified and teach the curriculum to others?
CH: Yes, our goal is that once you get through the program – and we’re trying to do it as two 3-month programs a year, which is 6 months altogether – if you get through that, then you get certified as an instructor. But, that’s also going to include not just all the training we had you go through but counseling. Because we are going to have you working with people who are a very different group to be working with.
And then, we have to get our insurance to cover it through the foundation. That way, everyone who’s insured as an instructor can go out and can set up a time to volunteer at Bethany House or the House of Ruth or wherever they might be needed. We’re also trying to open up chapters in different areas.
FCI So, is your insurance willing to cover that?
AB: So, the first step is we’re still working with instructors to collaborate all over the area, starting with Crystal, Xena and myself. I’ve been a martial artist since the age of 4 years-old, I do Karate and Judo. And we really get everybody’s perspectives and I’ve met a lot of martial artists and this is their heart and soul in the work that we do.
So, we're trying to see what is most practical from their point of view. So, our first step is collaborating with so many different instructors to say, “These are all the common things that we – from all these different [MMA] backgrounds – believe are the most practical.” And then having amazing people like Shawn Rafferty with the situational awareness and his take on it as well.
Once we get that curriculum all certified and written in stone, we then want to get it copyrighted for the nonprofit and for us. And once that happens, we want to make it free to the public and to establish it in all the chapters and get these girls certified as instructors. And we want to see how far we can really take it. And after our curriculum is certified we’re going to be presenting that to the insurance [companies] and for grants and to the different agencies to make this be a national thing that we can transfer to the different states and regions.
FCI: It’s quite ambitious.
AB: We’re lucky we have such a good community. The fight community and the martial arts community is really strong, especially in this area. Nova is very strong. So, Kaizen has actually opened up a lot of doors. We launched our first free self-defense course back in March and we had about 43 girls sign up. So, it was really great.
FCI: You mean girls and women?
AB: Women, but we had a couple of young girls who came with their moms. But, we take women, 12-and-up. So, we’ve already got the ball rolling in the program and we thought, 'How can we keep this momentum going?' 'How do we make this program better? There’s obviously a need. There are obviously women who want their daughters to learn and they want to learn. And it’s interesting that there’s nothing really out there for free already for them. Not a continuous course or for 3-months at a time.' I’m surprised it was needed, but here we are.
FCI: And can you tell me what your personal experiences are in the martial arts?
CH: So, we have right now on our team, Tony Walldecker who's a six-degree Black Belt who comes out of Rising Tide. And then we have Nima Mazhari, he’s the founder of Kaizen MMA and he has 38 years of martial arts experience. Then we have Thai Pham who's a Black Belt also and he comes out of Rising Tide. Then we have Mark Harris who’s also a Black Belt. And then, personally, I have 8 years of Muay Thai experience.
BH: And I’m a third degree Black Belt in MMA and I’ve been instructing for 10 years now at the end of the month. I was a kids’ instructor and I’ve been an adult instructor for over 5 years.
CH: And then Xena is a purple belt and she competes in MMA. And she’s also teaching at Kaizen MMA. She’s an instructor there every Tuesday and Thursday.
FCI: So, your programs are all-women?
CH: No, we have men instructors and we have men who come in as volunteers to help demonstrate certain things. But, our program’s target audience is women and girls 12-and-up.
FCI: That’s understandable. Can you tell me about your journey about getting into martial arts in the first place and then doing what you’re doing now?
BH: Well, I got invited out with some friends to go to a Muay Thai fight and it was at a local community center and it was at this wrinky-dink thing. And they had a ring up and it was supposed to be local fighters coming in. And I’d never been to this kind of thing before. I didn’t know what it was going to be like. So, I walk in and it’s about 100 people and we’re all in the community center. And I sit with my group of friends.
And I see this girl, walk up to the ring, and she was my size. She was about 5-foot, muscles toned, a face that was just scary – she just looked so badass, if I can say that. And she walked into the ring just so confident. And in the first minute of her first round, she knocked a girl out with a head kick, clean. And that was the end of the fight. And I had never seen anyone my size do anything like that.
So, I turned to my friend and said, ‘I want to start doing Muay Thai.’ And that relates directly to why we started this. Because I think that if more women, especially those who’ve been in these domestic violence situations, especially with those who look like them or who have the same stories or similar backgrounds to them, and they see what these women can do, then they can develop the confidence to say, 'Oh, and me too!' Because there literally was a lightbulb moment for me. And that’s really what started it all. That’s what started Muay Thai for me.
And then as I started to compete, I realized, there are really no girls to work out with. And I kept getting injured because I was sparring with guys twice my size only because there was no other option, right? So, after I had been in the community long enough and I knew all these girls and I sparred with them and talked to them – they all had the same problems. There were maybe one or two people they could work with. So, I talked to Kaizen and we pitched them the idea: ‘Hey, can we open up sparring with the mat space for all the girls in the community? I know they go to different gyms. But, they’re some of our neighbors. Can we practice with them? Because I have a fight coming up and I don’t want to get injured before my fight.’
So, slowly but surely, it started with, like, 6 girls and 3 gyms, which was tough because it’s not normal for gyms to work together. And a lot of gyms were kind of like, ‘Uh, I don’t really want your girls sparring with our girls, because I don’t really want to see how they do. It’s competition.’ But, now, we have 70 members. We have 12 gyms who’ve bought in. And we have Rising Tide and Kaizen MMA who’ve built a self-defense program together. So, it really is ‘community over competition.’
FCI: So, that’s the origin of the name. And you’ve been around since?
CH: Since 2023.
FCI: So, you’re really just brand new and hitting the ground running and it’s going crazy.
CH: We became a 501c nonprofit in April. And we launched our first program in March, 2024. We had our first fundraiser in January and we launched our first self-defense program in March, and we’ve been running these sparring events for about a year.
AB: And just to add on to that, Kaizen MMA has been so amazing. I, myself, have been there ever since I was a little girl back in 2005 and 2006 [though they had a different name back then]. My background was in Karate and Judo. And just going through Kaizen, I asked my boss[es], Sensei Ruby and Sensei Nima, I’ve always asked them, ‘Hey, can we make a difference in the community? Can we host fundraising events at the Dojo?’ And they always said, “You know our doors are always open to anyone who has a love of martial arts and anyone who wants to come in and learn.”
So, we’ve been able to host so many different fundraising events and to have them be one of our number-one sponsors in the self-defense courses and all the fundraising we’ve done is just truly amazing. And then, I know that we’re doing Destiny Rescue right now and then all the different organizations to come – it's just truly outstanding.
And all of us, Xena, Crystal and I, we all three just have big hearts not only for martial arts but for making a difference in some way, shape or form. Just seeing how we’ve hit the ground running at this point with no funding or no clear path to do this, but we’ve just said, ‘Let’s just go out there and see where this goes.’ And having it be an official nonprofit now and taking it to new heights is just awesome and I can’t wait to see how much more we can accomplish, especially after this Sunday’s fundraiser.
CH: We’re very lucky. Our community is so engaged. Not just from the girls but the guys as well. Jay Johnson does photography and he’s also with the community and he’s done all of our photography for free. Right now, for our event this Sunday, we have 25 volunteers. And they all go to different schools. So, it’s a very active and amazing community.
FCI: And your home space is?
CH: Right now it’s Kaizen MMA in Falls Church.
FCI: Have you had any major injuries? Do you have to worry about that?
CH: Not really. Since we started doing sparring sessions, that was the whole point – to make sure people stay safe. We haven’t really seen people have major injuries from the events. I don’t think there’s even been one. But, I personally, have had six concussions from competing and sparring – prior to all of this.
FCI: Have the Olympics raised more interest? Simone Biles is 4’8” and she’s such a powerhouse. Do you find more people coming out and feeling empowered?
AB: Our last sparring group was a lot of girls coming in from other martial arts backgrounds. But, I know a lot of the talk from the Olympics was about the big weightlifters and how they’re so empowered. And how they carry themselves with so much grace. And I know the USA Women’s Rugby team is trending on social media right now. So, a lot of people are saying, ‘I want to do something like that!’ And although rugby is not like martial arts, hopefully, when we do our next self-defense course I think a lot of people are going to be coming forward having seen the amount of amazing women in the Olympics, but we haven’t seen any direct correlation just yet [Laughs.]
By Christopher Jones
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