Meet Kylie Hunts-in-Winter of Brave Woman Martial Arts in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Hunts-in-Winter.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Since starting martial arts at only three years old, I’ve gained experience in Kenpo Karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Wrestling, Weapons, and MMA. In my over 13 years in the martial arts I have multiple National and World titles in various arts over the years, plus I’ve been teaching and mentoring up and coming martial artists for the past six years. My family is from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation Dakota/Lakota tribe, I have always been close to my culture and speak the Dakota language. My Native American name is Winyan Waditake, meaning Brave Woman named after my relative who was a woman warrior. Today I have an Instagram page with 50K followers called Brave Woman in honor of my culture and the page is to support women and girls in martial arts globally.

I support and help everyone I can, especially those I relate to, I teach free self-defense seminars, and have mentored many girls in self-defense, martial arts and life. Some of my work has been highlighted In various articles, newspapers, radio broadcasts, and almost every local news station. Some of my accomplishments are being a Junior Achievements 18 under 18 award winner, one of Unity’s Most Inspiring 25 Native American Youth Under 25 2020, The American Indian Excellence in leadership award recipient, Girls Rule BBB award winner being one of the top 4 inspiring girls in AZ, being an ambassador to China for Mesa Sister Cities, and much more. My hope is that my wider exposure not only gives me more opportunity for my message of women empowerment but to show other girls out there what they are capable of too.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a female in a male-dominated sport holds it’s many struggles. I have faced doubts in my abilities from every aspect of life; family, friends, and training partners have over and over again doubted my strength and capabilities only because I am a girl. Living and working with so many people not believing in you again and again can be difficult, but for me it just drives me to work harder and always prove them wrong. When I walked into my dojo for the first time at three years old, my first instructor said I wouldn’t last, but now we are practically family and I proved them wrong like countless others. The only way you succeed is not giving up, the way I’ve gotten where I am is because I never quit, I stuck with it, and from my experiences I support women who need it. Growing up, I didn’t see very many girls in martial arts, and even those who were I didn’t hear much from them. I hope that my efforts today will show girls and women that me and girls all around the globe know what they are going through because it has happened to us. From small words of encouragement to teaching self-defense, every effort counts because I know what it’s like to not have the support.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
What I’m most known for is my Instagram page @bravewoman__ Brave Woman Martial Arts, it started as a website, then Facebook and Instagram. Although I post my own content every once in a while, the majority of my content is sharing posts from girls and women in martial arts all around the world, to support them in what they do, to show that so many people care, and to share the stories of strong women everywhere. After a few years, I have accumulated over 50K Instagram followers. What matters most isn’t the numbers, but the girls all around the world, I have the privilege of connecting with, supporting, and inspiring.

I also teach my primary martial arts with my dojo and have worked with various nonprofit organizations teaching free self-defense classes to women, primarily focused on our Native American population. In these classes, I am standing up for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Movement (MMIW) to fight for the women and girls we have lost, and protect the rest of us for the better of our people and our future. Overall, I have many endeavors I participate in, and every single one of them is important to me, and I hope that my efforts to support others will inspire people to do the same.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without everyone who has supported me from coaches, to family, to training partners, and through it all the most important thing is that I stuck with it, I never quit. In martial arts, or any sport or activity, if you quit you’ll never go anywhere, there are countless teammates and people I’ve seen leave the arts through the years, being lost in life, vs making due and figuring it out. Sure, I have used hard work, compassion, focus, and so many other things, but the most important of all is consistency. If I was to teach only one self-defense class or gave up on posting on Instagram, I wouldn’t have helped that many people, but with consistency I’ve been able make an unimaginable positive impact on many. My advice to others is don’t miss an opportunity for the better because you didn’t show up because you never know what opportunity lies out there. Consistency is key to anything you do because without it, there is nothing, so many other factors are important, but if you don’t show up, that’s it.

Contact Info:

• Email: bravewomanmartialarts@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bravewoman__?igshid=4jpcjabniu78
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/kyliebravewoman

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