Police in Victoria, B.C., are investigating claims of sexual misconduct made against the owner and head coach of a martial arts gym located downtown. The gym in question is Zuma Martial Arts, and at least two women have come forward with serious accusations.
The women, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, say they experienced unwanted touching and verbal harassment while training at the gym. One woman, referred to as Jane, said she received inappropriate comments about her body and was asked invasive personal questions.
Jane described one incident that pushed her to leave the gym. During a sparring session last summer, she said she clearly told the coach she didn’t want to train with him.
She recalled telling him, “I don’t want to roll with you. I don’t want to touch you.” In response, she claimed he said, “You’re making me feel like I don’t have consent,” to which she replied, “You don’t.”
Despite her refusal, Jane said he pulled her into the session anyway. She described the two-minute interaction as deeply upsetting and violating.
“I could not have been any clearer,” she said. “I didn’t want to shake his hand. I didn’t want him on top of me. I didn’t want him to touch my hips or put his head on my chest. But all of that happened.”
Jane left the gym immediately after the encounter.
Another former member, who is being called Shelby, also shared her experience. She said that during a sparring session, the coach pinned her legs and groped her.
“He’s a large man. I’m a small woman,” she said. “He used that moment to touch me in a way that was completely wrong. I froze. I wanted to believe it was an accident, but I knew it wasn’t.”
Shelby and Jane both say they were motivated to report their experiences after learning that other women had similar stories. Some of these accounts were shared in a Reddit post Jane made two weeks ago.
“I had to warn others,” Jane said. “I didn’t feel safe there, and I don’t think other women are either.”
Both women have now filed police reports. Shelby said the hardest part was that the abuse came from someone she trusted.
“I joined that gym to learn self-defence,” she said. “But it ended up being used against me. That was my coach, someone I was supposed to trust.”
They also claimed the coach asked to take their photos. In Jane’s case, she said the request came after he showed her a nude image of another woman. She believed the photo offer was for an explicit shoot.
Though no charges have been filed yet, the gym’s leadership has responded to the situation. A statement was posted on Zuma Martial Arts’ door and social media pages. It said the team had spent the past week listening to difficult stories.
The statement said, “Every person deserves to feel safe and respected when they enter our gym. We recognize that informality and unclear boundaries can hurt people. That’s not what we want.”
The gym has hired Magenta HR, a human resources company, to conduct a full review of the gym’s culture. They also plan to update their code of conduct.
“We’re not trying to defend the past,” the statement read. “We are working to build a better future. Trust must be earned.”
Victoria police confirmed that they are actively looking into the matter. Officers are urging anyone with similar experiences or concerns to come forward.
