The group meets weekly at a secret location.
Members practice hooks and footwork in pairs, and the sound of fists on vinyl echoes throughout the space. The room hums with an energy that is positive and not too self-serious.
This is Queer Fight Club, a kickboxing and self-defense class for LGBTQ folks. At a time when honest and open conversations about gender identity and sexuality have become increasingly politicized, Mad Green, the group’s founder, wanted to carve out a space where queer and trans people could feel safe and reclaim a sense of joy.
“Whenever I started this club, I was really, really full of rage,” they said. “I had this feeling that straight people think queer people are soft and think that queer people are emotional sissies, and even if they love us, they don’t expect us to be strong, and aggressive and defensive. And I really wanted to shake that.”
After moving back to St. Louis to attend Washington University for graduate school, Green said they were shocked at how their perception of the city changed. Although they found that the local LGBTQ community was vibrant and supportive, the city no longer felt safe for people like them. They experienced homophobic and transphobic harassment at bars, which occasionally led to physical altercations.
Green started Queer Fight Club in 2023 as part of their masters thesis project. They said they were inspired by social practice art pieces, including Adrian Piper’s Funk Lessons, where the creative element takes the form of conveying new knowledge that can change participants’ experiences or perspectives.
Tad Schultejans, who has been involved with the club from its inception and now helps out with instruction, remembers the first 12 weeks.
“At the end of classes, Mad would interview us, or they would film and record us hitting,” they said. “There was one class that we did after we lost our first gym space where we dipped our feet into paint, and we did a whole class on the ripped-up mats from our old gym space. So you looked at all these old gym mats, and there’s like a hundred footprints of all the different combos that we’re doing.”
Since then, Queer Fight Club has evolved into a more typical workout class, but Schultejans says the spirit of it has stayed consistent. “Those creative parts have lessened a little bit, but that’s not to say that the class isn’t still a creative space,” they said. “We’re just not creating as much physical media from the class anymore.”
Green said that their focus has shifted toward creating a positive, empowering space for the members.
“I wanted it to be focused on good community building and taking care of each other,” they said. “Because that’s what queer communities have to do anyway. If we can’t defend ourselves, who’s going to?”
Zoe Castro, who has been part of Queer Fight Club for a little under a year, said that the camaraderie of the group was a big draw for her.
“I’ve made some really good friends. I’ve also gotten to know myself better because these are people I can really be myself around,” she said. “Having the community be queer people has allowed me to not overthink or put any extra energy into how I’m being perceived because I feel comfortable in the space, and I feel like however I’m perceived is how I’m gonna want to be.”
Zia Massena, a relatively new member who had just finished their second practice with Queer Fight Club, said that these classes felt like a safe space to learn self-defense.
They had been feeling unsafe, especially at night, and had never learned to fight.
“I am kind of tired of feeling scared all the time,” they said. “I’ve never really felt comfortable at a gym, just because I’m queer and I’m more feminine presenting, and I was always just terrified of someone coming up to me and harassing me. This felt like the right space to go to where I could feel safe learning to be safe.”
Another member, Jeff, had taken martial arts classes at other gyms in the past. They requested that St. Louis Public Radio only use their first name out of safety concerns.
They said that their previous experiences with combat sports didn’t feel as supportive or accepting as Queer Fight Club.
“You can want to get into kickboxing, but if from day one all people focus on doing is beating you down and trying to weed you out, you wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable going back there,” they said. “Having an environment where I felt safe to get back into it was really encouraging.”
The group’s membership has increased over the past few months via word-of-mouth and a recent feature on Nine PBS. Queer Fight Club has also competed in its first event, traveling to fight in a Seattle queer and trans martial arts tournament in March.
Green said that growth has been encouraging to see, and that it feels good to fulfill a need within the queer community. However, the club’s transition into somewhat of a small business, they said, can be bittersweet.
They are reluctant to advertise Queer Fight Club’s meeting place publicly, fearing that this might make the group a target for harassment.
“The realness of it also kind of threw me for a loop,” they said. “Because part of me wants it to stay underground and to keep it secret, and you have to have, like, a password to come in. But then this other part of me wants to have our own gym space with a storefront and be so loud and so legit.”
Other challenges include finding a permanent home for the club and raising funds so finances don’t prevent people from participating. Queer Fight Club currently accepts donations to cover equipment costs and to sponsor new fighters, so that folks in need can have their class fee waived.
New members must complete an introductory class to learn basic kickboxing techniques and can register online.
Whatever the future holds, members of Queer Fight Club all spoke to the positive impact the group has made on their lives. One member, Anna, said that coming to practice each week just makes her feel better.
“I always leave practice feeling way better about the day, and way more energized and hopeful,” she said. “It gives me hope to see a bunch of queer people who are consistently getting stronger and encouraging one another, and learning how to defend ourselves.”
