About Us

Welcome to BENT Collective, the home of queer combat sports, self-defence and pro wrestling in Leeds.

We are a queer and trans-run organisation that has one simple
purpose: bring LGBTQIA+ people together across the north of
England and teach them to fight!

Our aims:

  • To be an antidote to the cis/het-centred toxic masculinity of the martial arts world

  • To form a community of like-minded queers helping each other thrive

  • To make martial arts and pro wrestling training accessible, fun and centred around our needs as LGBTQIA+ people

  • To (consensually) kick each other in the head

Our history

We started out as a tiny queer community learning how to be professional wrestlers in an empty office.

Back in 2020, two of our members started Leeds Queer Wrestling, running classes for the local LGBTQIA+ community. We had nothing more than some mats we could put down in whatever venue would have us, but we quickly grew, with more and more people interested in learning the ropes.

We soon had a growing community of queer grapplers. Two of our members even took part in what is arguably the first wrestling match in the UK between two trans women (as far as we know)!

In early 2023, we added self-defence to our curriculum after one of our members became a qualified instructor. We began running weekly classes, and our community became even larger.

We found a relatively stable venue and started building on what we’d already established. We added Muay Thai and submission grappling to our curriculum, and introduced strength and conditioning classes.

In late 2024 we started a crowdfunder campaign to give us a more permanent venue, which was a huge success. We have since created our own queer martial arts gym, with a wrestling ring soon to come!

Throughout all of this we have continued to run inclusive classes for the queer community in Leeds and the surrounding area. If you’d like to join us, please get in touch; you’ll be welcomed with open arms!

  • Fought at queer-inclusive submission grappling tournaments and Muay Thai interclubs

  • Wrestled at shows in Leeds and Bradford

  • Run their own sessions and taken steps towards becoming coaches

  • Been amazing members of a community that loves and supports them

  • Bodyslammed the coaches (repeatedly)

Our members have:

OUR VALUES

No dickheads, no cops

The only way we can keep our spaces safe and inclusive is by having zero tolerance for those who would risk that. We don’t accept intolerance or bullying, and believe that queer liberation is incompatible with the police.

Community and liberation through sport

“There must be an ongoing recognition that everyone influences the classroom dynamic, that everyone contributes. These contributions are resources.” - bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.

We’re here to build community and to help liberate each other, and these are always our top priorities. Our coaches aren’t dictators in the gym, and don’t expect obedience or any respect that isn’t earned. We’re here to share knowledge and learn from each other, free from hierarchy.

Move with care

Combat sports are violent and training them has to be done with care, kindness and consent. Our classes aren’t about smashing each other and proving we’re the hardest people in the room. They’re about working together and looking out for each other, making sure every movement is done carefully and with care taken to avoid harm.

Taking our time

We’re not here to get as good as possible as fast as possible. We train for empowerment, not for competition. We take things slowly and move at the right pace for everyone so our classes can be as enjoyable as possible.

Change and evolve

We exist to serve and grow our community, and we don’t want anything to get in the way of that. That means being flexible and changing to meet our community’s needs, with members’ support and guidance.

Our Directors

  • Josh (any pronouns): Director

    Josh is our newest member and an excellent addition to the team. They are a researcher at the University of I want to say York, studying something to do with Biochemistry. Josh has been training with us for some time, and has recently competed in their first boxing and Muay Thai fights.

  • Matt (he/him): Director

    Matt was one of Leeds Queer Wrestling’s first members, and has been attending since the first ever session! He has watched our classes grow and evolve, and has become a fantastic member of the team. He has found community and support in our classes and is excited to give back wherever he can. He currently wrestles under the name Maxxx Gayns.

  • Roma (she/her): Director

    Roma is an artist, community organiser and researcher currently undertaking an AHRC-funded PhD in Material and Visual Cultures at Northumbria University. As a director of BENT Collective, she provides opportunities for queer and trans people to access combat sports training in Leeds and nationwide. In 2023 she became a personal trainer specialising in helping queer and trans clients feel more confident in fitness spaces.

  • Sam (she/her): Director & Lead Striking Coach

    Sam is an experienced fighter who has been training Muay Thai for around a decade. She has been developing her skills in gyms all over the country, and has even trained and fought in Thailand. In addition to Muay Thai, she has a background in Kyoukoushin Karate. She is enthusiastic about helping her fellow queers learn all about striking.

  • Zoë (she/they): Director and Lead Grappling Coach

    Zoë is a self-defence instructor, submission grappler and skills trainer specialising in diversity, equity and inclusion. She has worked with people and organisations all over the UK to help make them safer and more equal environments for marginalised employees. She wrestles under the name Robyn Ratt, and can be found coaching self-defence, grappling and MMA at a range of gyms around the north of England.