Kickboxing with Queers, Safe Space with QKC and G

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The eighth episode of the QFP features guest, G, founder of the Queer Kickboxing Club Chicago. Find them on instagram @qkcchicago. Follow the podcast @queerfitnesspod. The Queer Fitness Podcast is an interview podcast all about queer experiences with sports, fitness and our bodies. 

Support the show on Patreon.com/queerfitnesspod to hear bonus content from this episode. 

Transcript coming soon! (at queerfitnesspod.wordpress.com)

Transcript

spk_0:   0:00
Welcome to the Queer Fitness podcast. I'm your host, Elise, and each week I'll be interviewing a queer person about their experiences and fitness and sports. This week I talked to G, founder of the Queer Kick Boxing Club, the way the queer for this podcast is co produced by Eating Robinson. This episode of the Queer Fitness podcast is sponsored by STD check dot com order. STD tests online. Visit a test center and get your results within 1 to 2 days. Get $10 off your order and find your nearest lab by following the link in the show. Notes of the podcast Could you introduce yourself? You're queer identity and any other words to describe yourself.

spk_1:   1:00
Yes, I'm g I go by G. Um, I used a them pronouns identified because it depends on the audience, but typically somewhere on the queer fluid on andro trans mask spectrum. Um, but it's all a little I like to say everything in my life is fluid. So generally I kind of sick with, you know, a queer fluid isn't over over all. Encompassing description. Cool. No,

spk_0:   1:31
and any other words to describe yourself, what you're doing or hobbies or anything?

spk_1:   1:36
Yeah, um, I would say a passionate, Um uh, understanding, um, intense. I've been described as, um and I would say I always always driving to be kinder.

spk_0:   1:55
Cool. Could you start talking about how you got into sports? Like, what were you doing as a kid or three teenage years or anything?

spk_1:   2:05
Yeah. So, um, I come from a family of people who are not athletes, some. So all of this was very intrinsically motivated. Even as a young kid, I wanted to be doing every sport I possibly could. Um, and I think part of that maybe stem from the fact that my sister and I don't even were. Even though we're only a couple of years apart, we've always had very separate schools and activities. So I kind of was always looking for that team or that group for that class of people, a za kid And, um, but I kind of, you know, did a little bit of everything is a kid. I'm not super competitively, but just, you know, play. But in terms of sports, I I always kind of gravitated towards soccer, basketball, hockey, martial arts. Obviously. Um, I was recruited

spk_0:   2:52
heavily for things like

spk_1:   2:53
basketball and football because I'm almost six feet and have always been married cells. And, uh, yeah, so but but consistently throughout my childhood, martial arts really was kind of my sports outlet. So I think, um, my parents who are very creative and kind of artsy people we're like, OK, well, at least if you're gonna do something, like sport like, it will also have the word art

spk_0:   3:15
in it. So, you know, it won't be

spk_1:   3:18
like whatever. Um, so I think that they, you know, they they understood how beneficial it was for me both physically and mentally and emotionally. As a kid, it's obviously a CZ. We all know a little bit and can surmise martial arts teaches very important skills and tools. Things like this a plan, then, um, how to peacefully resolve things. And you know, that kind of stuff. So I always say, I probably would not be the same person without martial arts in my life. It's a young age. Eso Actually, when I was about five or six, I went to my mom and I said, Mom, I, um, I really want to play ice hockey, and she was like Um, okay, Is there anything else you want?

spk_0:   4:00
T o

spk_1:   4:01
and I was kind of always, you know, the before we had language to describe this kind of always liked tomboy, you know, wearing boy's clothes. And I'm using air quotes. Clothing should not be gendered yet it is. But, you know, I was just kind of kind of in that niche. And so I also at the same time really, really wanted to be a ninja turtle obsessed with martial arts. So she said I had to pick one, um that I couldn't do both. And I think luckily for me and maybe for other people, it picked martial arts. Um and so I still love hockey and play hockey and basketball and football, soccer and all that stuff. But martial arts was really consistent for me throughout my life, and I took a couple of years on and off breaks here and there, but kind of always returns to it. Um, the school that I was at, uh, Waas eyes a very different place. Now, I will say that, but at the time was a very woman and queer centric and focused space. And so I think my parents really liked that. It's well, that's really cream. Yeah, which is not common

spk_0:   5:04
right now, as

spk_1:   5:04
you know, in sports and martial arts in anything on dhe. So it was a very special safe space where no, being a radical, angry feminist was okay, And, you know, so it was It was a different martial arts experience for sure than ones that my friends were having. But I really think that it shaped me into the most artists. I am, Um, and, uh, in high school and college kind of dabbled a little bit in college. I played some, uh, with the gay league here, the C m s A s. I played flag football with them a couple times and, uh, a little bit of dodgeball. I kind of wanted to try everything I could. You know, since I didn't grow up in that family that did that stuff, I wanted to get my hands on whatever I could once I once I was able to sew. And that goes, as far as you know, seeking out opportunities to learn how to snowboard, for instance, something that my family would would never do and something that I had always wanted to do and and did. Um, so I think most of my sports journey, if you will, has been based on sort of these almost like childhood desires. Money wanting Thio be fulfilled as an adult. So

spk_0:   6:13
what? What martial art were you then taking as a kid? And which ones did you return to is an adult or which different schools or does gangs or whatever did you go to? And how was that experience? Different?

spk_1:   6:29
Very different. Um, so I, uh let's see. So most of my training I have a 1st 3 black belt in Saito karate, which is a very traditional formal Japanese style of karate. The basis of it is strikes, punches, kicks and blocks. So it's not a lot of grappling. It's not a lot of joint locks. It's not a lot of board breaking. It's really learning how to strike and defend yourself and sparring in that kind of stuff. Whereas other arts focus on different, different aspect. Other arts also have different shapes, so some of them, like kung fu, is much more eccentric and dance like it's very circular rather than linear, um, techniques. So I would say, Gosh, for almost at 25 years of training and Saito karate. Um, And then when I moved to New York, I lived in Brooklyn and trained in mixed martial arts studio. They're called Focus Mixed martial arts, which is a wonderful place. Recommended Michel, the owner. It is a wonderful person. They teach kids, adults, everything. Um, and that is where um, I gave most of my amendment experience. I did a little bit with some friends here, kind of outside of our classes, just for fun, but really taught and trained their kids and adults as well. So, you know, I got to learn snippets of everything, which is wonderful. I got to learn some couple Wait, Awesome. Come through some aikido, some digits. Our niece, which is a really cool Filipino martial arts that has short three inch wouldn't six to some really cool stuff on. So I don't have you know, obviously, when it's mixed, martial arts is harder to like have a belt because there are so many different styles. But so I trained there for about four years on and off on. And then when I got back here and once I started to look around and look for other places. I realize they're just Everything was so cis male dominated and run. Um, not queer, affirming or welcoming. Um, and I didn't want to put my money or my time and my energy into that. So I saw a need and just kind of was like, Well, I can create it. And, you know, people will come where they

spk_0:   8:35
won't find. Just so yeah, um, So, if you like, sort of transition very nicely into my next question, then, um yeah, let's talk about the start of the Queer Kickboxing Club. Why is a kickboxing club instead of mm, a club and just the start of the hole in Des Fergus. And Yeah, tell me more.

spk_1:   8:59
Um, yes. Also will answer that quick question for So it's so I decided I thought a lot about you know, what? I wanted the name to be. What I wanted to offer, obviously I want to offer service is that I am qualified in, um and, uh, you know, But at the same time, I know that, um, my capacity and availability just logistically right now is limited. So training people one on one or, you know, two people or maybe three people. Max is much more what I'm able to do right now, and hopefully in the future will have a bigger space for group classes. But just kind of knowing that I wouldn't be able to offer a kind of formal traditional group classes. I decided to kind of go a different route. And, um, I really think that kickboxing, you know, from when I've done it, the less formal, you know, kind of kick boxing is one of the best workouts you can have, because it truly is cardio and strength together. Um, and so people underestimate this, and I'll have people you know, e mailed me and be like, Oh, I want I want to do an hour session And I'm like, Are you sure? Um, typically around minute 20 people are starting Thio, starting to panic about how tired they are. Um, because I think, you know, it's it's a lot more than you think. Um, but so I kind of wanted to give it. I wanted to make sure it had an exercise component, right? I didn't. I've been in some martial arts classes where I feel the balance of exercise too. That's what I'm looking for, A kind of not lecturing, but, you know, like exercise to teaching, like off where I felt like there was just so much down time. And I wasn't like sweating as much as I wanted. And so I want to make sure that I'm providing that for people, obviously at varying levels and modifications, but for people to really feel like they're getting their money's worth and they're getting a workout and they're sweating and they're stealing those endorphins And, um so the easiest way to kind of bridge together. The knowledge that I already have in the training that already have was to be something more casual and informal, like bossing. But Emma is also super fun. And, um, I do think that practically speaking in terms of a more street self defense style and then may is a bit more useful than something that's very formal in traditional. Right, when you run into a problem on the street, you're not gonna be like hang on, let me get into my like, formal, front leaning stance before I punch you. You know, like it's like, No, I congrats. You are we Can you know whatever on dhe. Usually there's an easier approach. So part of what I liked about being mm. Especially after being in such a formal art for so long was the informality of it and sort of more seemingly just simple approach to it. Um, so, yeah. So, like I was saying when I got back here about a year ago, I I really wanted to, you know, be a part of that community again. There was just a lot of kind of stuff going on with school and decided it was better for me to kind of just branch off and start my own thing. And every school that I looked at, especially here, was in sports in general, I think there's a lot of CIS male machismo, but martial arts is can be even worse because you're hitting people. Julia. So you're having this kind of, uh, you know what I have seen many times, Especially with sister men who are training this kind of power struggle, right? Lama hit you harder, and I'm gonna hit you harder. And that's that doesn't teach anyone anything. Unfortunately, that just gets people hurt. Um, so for me, it was really important to, uh, create a model that that copied some of what I had had, you know, from my previous school, but then also took other things into account, and so are focused on our mission. To Casey's mission is really to provide a safe, affirming, open, comfortable space for people to train at every level. People you know, someone who's in a wheelchair can train someone who is pregnant in train, someone who is right. So we are keywords kind of our inclusivity and accessible, um, part of our, you know, part of our other other bottom admission is that we want everyone to be able to use it. We don't want finances to be a barrier. I thought long and hard about payment and decided thio, um, to make it on a siding scale for our community because I know that personally from me when I was looking, I couldn't afford it was out there. Um and, uh, you know, we never want finances to be a barrier for anyone. The benefits physically and mentally and emotionally of martial arts are far too wonderful for someone to not be able to pay $10. So we always figure it out. And we have some clients that barter and exchange service is with us. For instance, I have a client. Who? The license, Sarge. Therapist. So I get sessions. It's sausages, which is amazing. Um, yeah. So any service is that we can use? Um, definitely are more than opens a bartering and exchanging for that, Um, and ultimately, you know, the other piece of it is that truly it was a little bit of selfish motivation on my part. You know, I wanna create a kind of a group of fighters that I can also trade with, Um and so actually just trained someone tonight who I had trained with as a kid back at the school I was talking about Yeah, it was awesome. Was her first time back in, like, a decade, you know, doing that kind of stuff again. So just finding people of different skill levels and ability levels and kind of, I guess, creating a little, you know, queer and queer friendly ninja army.

spk_0:   14:21
It's a lot of people use the words like safe space. Um, what does that feel like to you? And like, how is that different from other? I don't know, like Cece gyms normal. Jim's says head gyms that you've been in. Um, I'm glad you

spk_1:   14:42
said that, because I I do feel a bit like this becomes kind of like a trigger word,

spk_0:   14:47
right? Yeah.

spk_1:   14:47
What's what's the, uh, you know, like, not a key word. But like everyone's using, it's like, trendy. Yes, it's now. Yeah. No, I That is probably the most important part of me. Um, we have a new inquiry email that we send anyone who enquires about about our service is which kind of explains part of what that safe space entails and what it is. And and mostly it's just to offer people in our community the space too, not have to be forced to go to the women's bathroom. Or, um, you know, being an uncomfortable space where people are not clear friendly or, um, you know, for instance, the, um, I've taught at schools and been at schools where things could be very gendered, Right? Even in your response to your teacher, sometimes it's Yes, sir, or yes, ma'am. Right. So how do you kind of navigate that with people who don't identify as either? Right. So for me, kind of making conscious efforts to remove language like that or does not use language like that is important. That that makes it safer to me that someone's not assuming that about me. Um, you know, and it was also important to me. Luckily, the gym is is in a wonderful building that's very clear from Lee, and you know, they have futile bathrooms and things like that that just make a space feel more accommodating to the community that we're in on and I think makes it feel a little bit less intimidating to people. Especially dinners were coming in, and it's like you already have to deal with being nervous about trying a new thing. But now you have to deal with, like, the bathroom thing and the changing saying in that, right? So it's, I think, I think for me the safe space was more maybe eliminating issues that I found in other spaces, um, to provide that true safe space for people. And it's also a space where, you know, if somebody like I have clients who were like, Yes, I really physically needed that. But I also like mentally needed that today. So it's also space for people like, you know, we check in with each other. It's not just like a business where I'm like giving your money. I'm gonna train you. It's a community. And that's why it's That's why you know, we're club members and they're not clients, because it is that I feel How are you doing today? How are you feeling? Um, you having any trouble with anything like, Can we help with anything? You know, we have, ah, wonderful student who a couple months ago was trying to put together enough money to move into a new apartment to get out of their situation on DWI crowdsource, and we funded raised money, and they now have enough money to move into their new place. So, yes. So it's really important to us to not only generate business but also generate community and network and support because, you know, we're lucky to be in Uptown Chicago, which is a pretty clear friend neighborhood, but mostly neighborhoods in the city or not. They don't have things like this. So maybe eventually would be great to kind of have to Casey be traveling people to different neighborhoods and stuff like that. Um, and we actually are talking thio on organization here, which works with a lot of queer community, and we use about doing an ongoing program. Well, two, so lots of stuff coming up for more

spk_0:   17:59
co cool. So how do you think? Like your experience as, like, queer gender fluid. All of the words that you used before, um, has, like, changed your view of your body confidence. Or like sports has impacted U S A. A person who uses their then pronounce Or what a number yet?

spk_1:   18:23
Yeah, um, it definitely has. I mean, you know, it's sometimes it's hard for me to gauge because, uh, most of my martial arts training was in a space that was so queer centric so often I wonder if I had trained in, like, a more typical sort of sis had, you know, male school. It's my experience. It it would have been different, but how it would have been different. And so sometimes I feel like I almost got the easy end of the stick in that sense, because I was, like, in a place where was okay to be whatever you wanted. Um, but certainly in other schools, you know, like I just mentioned, um, martial arts could be very gender. It could be very exclusionary. And, um, particularly if you're competing. Like when I used to tournaments. You have to weigh in, and you have to be in a gender category. You have to fight either men or women. You cannot fight both. So it can get very frustrating as, ah, as a queer person when you feel just as in everyday life, when you feel like you don't fit into those binaries, um, and that you want to be able to do it all, uh, and I I think I think we're I think we're starting to get there. But I think there's still a lot of people out there who think that women and women identifying people should not be doing martial arts. Um, and you know, there's this whole kind of the whole, uh I like to call it like the glove effect. Right. So, like, why do we have a big boxing right? And why did Why are they only for women? You know, like I've never seen it. Men and male identified People wanna wear them. Great. But I've never seen that. And I feel like there's this whole thing that's been created around like, Oh, women need, like, special stuff for Barcelona TS. And so I think part of my own experience in

spk_0:   20:07
that I mean, do they just need, like, special pink things in general. Right? Kens, um, think rivers, pink, lighter, pink razors.

spk_1:   20:16
It's sickening. Um, but I think I think part of my own, uh, you know, personal experience that that has just been trying to push back on that. Um And I think, honestly, that that is part of why I was so adamant about creating you, Pacey, is because I didn't want to be in that world anymore. And wouldn't it be great if we could create, like, I don't know, a competition or a tournament down the line where it wasn't gendered? I mean, that would be that would be really cool. Just to be able to provide that for people who haven't had that in such a gender saying right,

spk_0:   20:48
What are some of the best and worst moments you've had since starting? Q. Casey,

spk_1:   20:54
I would say I'll start with the worst that remember the worst because we always remember the words, um, I was experimenting a couple months ago with, uh, promotions and paying for ads to try and reach more people. Er and I started que que si solely on instagram just to kind of gauge put it out their seed. And we're gonna you know, um And then once that kind of started gaining a little bit of momentum, and I started getting more, more people training that I reluctantly created a facebook page for, um, I have deleted my, like, personal Facebook years before, so I was like, I don't want to mess with that Right? You know, people were saying is there is a different crowd, so I created a Facebook page. Um, it's not as like, you know, well done on instagram, but it's there. We're working on it. Um, but I remember posting something and promoting it and receiving, like, several sort of negative and hateful comments from very young people talking sort of like the 8 17 18 year old kind of, you know, male audience. Generally speaking, not not typically your nicest or most compassionate audience. I'm not general s, um but, you know, they were just comments about like, Oh, is this only for queer? You know it is only for queer people like, why do people need bits? And, like, three people get everything just kind of like, really false, inaccurate, damaging comments on dso You know, for me as like a new kind of business owner community organizer trying to navigate that Obviously, you know, you have to decide if you want to answer how you want to answer, it's gonna do all that stuff. So I I answered, and I just very diplomatically said, You know, hopefully you can learn from great people in your life that three people feel that they don't actually get everything and that, you know, we really need a space where we feel safe and able to train just kind of something along those lines. Um, you know, they never responded, of course, but it was the first backlash that we had really, truly gotten. Everything else had been super positive and supportive. Um, I think just Facebook does have a different audience, and you can kind of tailor the promotions toe like age range, location like, um and so I learned my lesson and we

spk_0:   23:20
adjusted our filter the um not

spk_1:   23:24
that we don't want to appeal to that crowd, too. But it's, you know, we obviously want to generate good press and support, Um, and and not hateful comments. So that was one of the worst, um, the best. Um I mean, I don't want to sound corny, but truly, I really enjoy every session. I really it's such a passion project for me that I get to train people of all different, like experience levels and endurance levels and from all walks of life and people that I've known since I was eight years old, people that I just met off Instagram. I will say that the only other thing is that we saw Acronym Askew Casey because it's for a reason. It's queer Kickboxing Club, this Chicago chapter. So ah, goal would be Thio get a chapter going in other cities, um, and kind of make a national network of this so that people travel or people who want to travel who are different cities can also better. So that would be come. You know, uh, a long term goal for us if you're in a different city. Look out. Coming,

spk_0:   24:27
Thio. Nice. No, that's really cool. Are you down to do a little bit of trivia. Let's do it. Eso I've got some questions about LGBT history in Chicago in Illinois, um, and kick boxing history. So what year did Illinois issue a charter for a nonprofit group called the Society for Human Rights? The Fear. The first homosexual organization in the U. S. Which only lasted for a few months. So what year?

spk_1:   24:58
I'm gonna go with light? I don't know. 1991

spk_0:   25:06
s. So it was actually really way out. Uh, 1924. Whoa. That's amazing. Really crazy because it was still, like illegal to be, uh, so homosexual or, you know, I'm a sentimental

spk_1:   25:24
illness. Considered a mental

spk_0:   25:26
and kick boxing history in 1976. Kickboxing split off from full contact rules in the professional karate organization. What was the new organization

spk_1:   25:35
called? Uh, well, there's Ah, there's a world that's different.

spk_0:   25:43
You were actually on the right track.

spk_1:   25:45
Yeah, I don't know.

spk_0:   25:46
So it it was a world world karate feathery world kick buck seeing organization. It was not 1976. Illinois became the first state to decriminalize homosexual activity. In what year?

spk_1:   26:00
See Have to be. I'm gonna go with

spk_0:   26:06
It's the first state though.

spk_1:   26:08
Oh, wow. Go

spk_0:   26:10
Illinois. I'm a proud 11 million

spk_1:   26:13
right now. Uh, I'm gonna go with somewhere in the eighties. I think maybe, like 83

spk_0:   26:21
s 0 1961 Oh, wow. How fast was the fastest KO in kick boxing history?

spk_1:   26:28
Ooh, that's a fun one. Thief. Fastest Ko. There's some pretty quick Keough's out there. Sometimes all it takes is one technique. 10 seconds.

spk_0:   26:41
So what I found was 1.8 seconds. What by Australian Ian Jacobs in 2009. At what year were the Gay Games? Which is basically the Olympics for LGBT people held in Chicago?

spk_1:   26:56
Mmm. I think this was early nineties. It may have been the ladies will go with. We'll go with, like, 1990

spk_0:   27:08
2006. Really? Yeah. Who had my last question? Can you name three international governing bodies of kickboxing

spk_1:   27:20
three international governing body? Yeah. Okay. So, like, for example,

spk_0:   27:26
s O, for example, we already talked about one, Which is the world Cape Bakkies Kickboxing organization? Yeah,

spk_1:   27:34
also theirs. Obviously, I can tell you there's a world Saito karate organization. There's also the the Women's Martial Arts Federation, which is very cool. Just obviously focus on women and martial arts. Think,

spk_0:   27:47
um, the short list I have. And I know there are more, uh, International Combat Organization, World Association of Kickboxing, uh, International Sport Karate Association, International Kickboxing Federation and World Kickboxing Network.

spk_1:   28:04
Yeah, and they're all different, like they're all. It's all different rules, different targets, different power.

spk_0:   28:11
Where to find you on the Internet, instagram or otherwise and like, what sort of community things do you have going upcoming?

spk_1:   28:19
Um, you can find us A Q, K, C, Chicago, um, are on

spk_0:   28:23
Facebook. As I

spk_1:   28:24
mentioned, I would. I would stick to Instagram if you want to see more content. If anybody wants more information or has any questions about it, they can always email us it to Casey Chicago D Mail E meet up group that we also run, which is called Prettied Up. Chicago is a monthly safe space for specifically for queer trans non binary GNC people. Um, and they are. Our mission is to provide a space where people do not feel pressured to spend money or drink or socialize or do anything that they don't want to do. It's a very chilled, precious execution. Our goal for that also is to move around the cities of the location changes every month so that we can get into different spots. Um, so we have our next one coming up for that on Friday, December 6. It's always the first Friday of the month.

spk_0:   29:13
It's been often talking with you.

spk_1:   29:15
Yeah, likewise. Thank you so much.

spk_0:   29:17
This episode of the Queer Fitness Podcast is sponsored by STD check dot com order. STD Tests online. Visit a test center and get your results within 1 to 2 days. Get $10 off your order and find your nearest lab by following the link in the show Notes of the Podcast Way.