Guardian Girls USA Launches Guardian Girls Aikido in LA
Guardian Girls USA hosted the Guardian Girls Aikido (GGA) seminar, in collaboration with rYojbaba Co., Ltd. and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), at the Terasaki Budokan in downtown Los Angeles, marking the first implementation of the Guardian Girls Aikido project in the United States.
The event was supported by local organizations including Aikido Kenkyukai International USA, Geocity Media, and Southern California Sister Cities, bringing together community partners committed to promoting women’s safety and empowerment through sports and martial arts.
The seminar brought together women from across the greater Los Angeles area to learn practical self-defense techniques and personal safety skills rooted in the principles of Aikido, a Japanese martial art that emphasizes balance, awareness, and non-violent conflict resolution.
The training session was led by Lia Suzuki, a seventh-degree Aikido practitioner with more than 45 years of teaching experience. Participants engaged in interactive exercises focused on situational awareness, confidence-building, and practical self-defense techniques designed to help women protect themselves in everyday situations.
The Guardian Girls Aikido project was originally launched in Bogotá, Colombia, in February 2024, in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan in Colombia. In 2025, the initiative expanded nationwide through a strategic partnership with Colombia’s Ministry of Sport, reaching major cities across the country. Since then, the program has continued to grow internationally, with activities taking place in Japan, Peru, Turkey, and now the United States.
As part of efforts to raise awareness of the initiative, Nia Lyte, Chair of Guardian Girls International, appeared on Telemundo, one of the largest Spanish-language television networks in the United States. The broadcast provided an opportunity to introduce the Guardian Girls Aikido program to millions of viewers and highlight the importance of promoting women’s safety, empowerment, and leadership through sports-based initiatives.
The Guardian Girls Aikido programme is part of the broader Guardian Girls global platform, which uses martial arts and sports to advance gender equality and the protection of women and girls, contributing to the goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls.
Following its successful launch in the United States, Guardian Girls International will continue expanding the Guardian Girls Aikido project through partnerships with martial arts organizations, community groups, and international institutions around the world.
