Conscious Combat Club

Author: Georgia

Trauma informed martial arts by women, for women. We're curious about why so many people say "martial arts saved them". What is the link between martial arts and mental health? And how can we create safer, trauma informed gyms and dojos?
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Genres: Health & Fitness, Mental Health

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Fight Science #7: Molly Higgins: “It literally makes me feel harder to kill” (Part 1/2)
Tuesday, 20 January, 2026

Fight Science is a special segment of the Conscious Combat Club podcast where we invite researchers to take a deep dive into a paper they’ve written and explain it to us as though we’re 14 years old. In this episode I interview Molly Higgins (she/her), a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology with a clinical focus on trauma & PTSD, and a research focus on physical activity as an adjunct intervention for trauma-related disorders. In this episode we explore her paper titled: Higgins, M., Littleton, H., Zamundu, A., & Dolezal, M. (2024). “It literally makes me feel harder to kill”: A qualitative study of the perceived benefits of recreational martial arts practice among women sexual assault survivors. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 90(9), 1285–1299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01495-w To contact Molly: Email: mhiggin3@uccs.edu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollyhigg/?hl=en Read the paper here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-13150-001 To get involved with the Conscious Combat Club: - Donate: https://conscious-combat-club.raiselysite.com/ - Visit our site https://www.consciouscombat.club/ - Rounds 4 Respect: https://rounds4respect.org/ - Join the waitlist for Melbourne classes https://www.consciouscombat.club/naarm - Become a conscious combat coach https://www.consciouscombat.club/coaching - Join our mailing list "Mat Chat' https://www.consciouscombat.club/mat-chat SUPPORT LINKS: Some listeners might find parts of this conversation distressing. Please take care, link in your support networks, or refer to one of these organizations if you need: Eating disorder support: https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/ Mental health support: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support Domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support https://www.1800respect.org.au/ Sexism in sport https://www.respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/ DirectLine (Alcohol & Drug Support) – 1800 888 236 (24/7) http://www.directline.org.au/ QLife (Queer-Specific Peer Support) – 1800 184 527 (3pm – midnight) - https://qlife.org.au/ Lifeline (Crisis Support & Suicide Prevention) – 13 11 14 (24/7) http://www.lifeline.org.au/gethelp Thank you so much to Nari for the beautiful song "Shape Me" heard at the beginning and end of this episode. Nari wrote this song about Shape Your Life, a boxing program for self-identified female survivors of violence in Canada. She wrote this song using the words and experiences shared by participants with Cathy Van Ingen. You can find out more about Shape Your Life in my interview with Cathy in Episode 8. You can hear more of Nari's work by going to her Instagram: @narithesaga

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