Sarah Harney was in her 30s and a mother of five when she decided to give taekwando a try.
She vowed not to quit until she had progressed to black belt – which is exactly what she did, along with her husband and all but one of her six children.
In 2020, the 51-year-old founded Endeavour Taekwondo in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, which has reached 200 members.
About 70% of the students at Sarah’s studio are female, and she says feels proud to be providing a safe space for women and girls who want to give the martial art a go.
Sarah told the BBC the idea to launch Endeavour came after she began to learn taekwondo alongside her young children but had bad experiences at other clubs.
She teaches multiple classes alongside two of her sons and tailors the sessions to her students.
For her majority female classes, she focuses more on kicks instead of moves that use more upper body strength and power.
Psychology lessons
At clubs she has previously attended, Sarah said she felt periods were seen as “embarrassing,” and “taboo,” but at her club, she said the women and girls “support each other”.
“A girl came in one day, she was on her first period, it was a really stressful time for her,” she said.
“We just hit things and ordered ice cream, that’s the beauty of girl groups.
“If it’s going to be one of those days, we just kind of put the word out there and come in black[uniforms] instead.
“Here, we have a safe space for us to train in, where we don’t feel like we’re competing with men, where we don’t have to perform to somebody else’s standards.”
Sarah says she also teaches lessons based around psychology, self-help measures and self defence.
“[Some clubs] don’t look out for their members, which is really sad,” she said.
Aidan Heaney, Sarah’s son and fellow instructor, said: “It is a male-dominated field. That sort of discourages a lot of women from joining because they feel they will be excluded.
“[Endeavour] has lots of wonderful high-ranking women. I think that helps, they feel safe seeing someone like them doing it.”
Two of Sarah’s students have won world titles and the club picked up 11 medals at a competition in Germany in May.
Kirsty Harrison, from Mansfield, said attending the club made her feel like she was “part of an extra family.”
“We can truly be ourselves, no awkwardness or feeling like you just aren’t good enough,” said the 39-year-old.
“I love that we have a large group of ladies who attend because it lets us train together in a safe place.
“The club goes that extra mile to make women feel comfortable and safe within.
“I honestly did not think I would get very far with it yet here we are, I’ve just achieved my first black belt last December.”
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