Women-only boxing classes launch to boost safety and confidence in Birmingham
Free sessions in Rubery and Bartley Green are helping women feel safer, with coach Keith Tucker explaining how the community-led project began
New women’s boxing classes have been launched in deprived areas of Birmingham, including Rubery and Bartley Green, aiming to empower women with confidence and practical self-defence skills.
Keith Tucker, one of the directors of the Birmingham Community Boxing Project, explained how the classes began:
“We started them to improve the health and safety of the women that attend them and make their confidence build.”
The sessions are held weekly in Rubery and Bartley Green, two of the city’s more deprived areas. Keith said the goal is to help women “feel safer walking the streets alone because it’s very, very vulnerable for them when they’re on their own.”
Using professional gym equipment, the classes provide affordable access to boxing training. Keith noted:
“We wanted to make it accessible for women that couldn’t afford to pay gym prices.”
The women’s sessions grew out of demand from female participants in other adult classes who preferred a women-only environment. Keith said:
“Certain women don’t really want to be training with men. They like to train on their own with women. They feel a bit more comfortable by doing that. And that’s why we decided to put them on.”
Feedback from participants has been positive, with many praising the sessions. Keith shared:
“They’ve put a lot of Google reviews up for us saying how amazing the sessions are. It’s quite humbling because it says about us as coaches how good we are as coaches as well.”
Beyond the women’s classes, the project also runs sessions for vulnerable adults and children, including people with cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Keith explained:
“Boxing is not just for people who can stand up, it’s for seated applicants as well.”
The wider project also runs holiday camps and community activities designed to offer positive opportunities for young people. Keith highlighted the role of boxing as a positive influence:
“There’s role models that people look up to, especially kids when they see boxers. They look up to them and want to be that person. It’s about giving back, really, giving back to the community.”
Keith and his son Daniel, a qualified England boxing coach, founded the Community Boxing Project in April 2023 to meet local demand. Keith said:
“We realised that there wasn’t much work happening over in our area of South Birmingham. So that’s why we decided to form our own company and applied for funding streams to run these sessions for free.”
Looking ahead, Keith hopes the women’s boxing classes will continue to grow and make a positive difference. “We want to improve the lives of people living in our area and beyond” he said.