Parker Zigler is the founder of She Fights Back AZ, a nonprofit dedicated to providing women with accessible self-defense education, support, and empowerment. Her mission is to help women feel stronger, safer, and more in control of their own stories, no matter their background or experience level.

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Parker’s journey in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu began over twenty years ago, and in 2024, she earned her black belt from Relson Gracie, son of Helio Gracie, the founder of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Achieving this rank required Parker to demonstrate full mastery of more than 100 self-defense techniques, a process that sparked a deep realization: women outside the Jiu Jitsu community deserve access to these essential skills just as much as practitioners do.

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Over the past five years, Parker has taught women’s classes and run the kids’ and women’s programs at Gracie Arizona, working with students of all ages and experience levels. Through this work, she saw how transformative Jiu Jitsu could be not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.

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Teaching women shifted her focus beyond competition or technique. She recognized a pressing need for practical, approachable self-defense training centered on confidence, boundaries, and self-advocacy. This inspired her to begin offering self-defense classes specifically for women with no previous training, and the response made it clear that this was more than a side project; it was a calling. That calling became She Fights Back AZ.

 

Through the nonprofit, Parker is committed to creating a community where women uplift one another, protect one another, and come to understand the strength they already possess.