A world martial arts champ strs visibily as openly gay fighter - Outsports

Contents:

• A GAY MAN'S JOURNEY OF DISVERY THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS
• A WORLD MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPN STRS VISIBILY AS AN OUT GAY FIGHTER
• FIGHTG THE ODDS WH SHIHAN MICHELLE GAY
• GAY KARATE HAPPY HOUR: KICKS AND PUNCH AND SAKE, "OH MY!"

A GAY MAN'S JOURNEY OF DISVERY THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS

I'm also a gay man who holds black belts two forms of martial arts. Now I know you're not gay.

"I mean I'm gay. ) Sce there is an obte ncept that all homosexuals crave sexual enunters wh any and all members of the same sex, and sce martial arts is a ntact sport, I wasn't sure how my martial arts peers would take or what they would thk.

A WORLD MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPN STRS VISIBILY AS AN OUT GAY FIGHTER

For world jujutsu champn William Seth-Wenzel, his g out procs as an openly gay fighter clud havg his boyiend at meets cheerg him on.

Seth-Wenzel is also proud to have won as an openly gay athlete, havg e out gradually the last two years. His terview wh Outsports, nducted over email and Instagram, is the first time he has talked publicly about beg gay.

FIGHTG THE ODDS WH SHIHAN MICHELLE GAY

“Dog martial arts and beg gay is que rare I gus, ” he said. “Not beg gay maybe, but beg out as gay is not very mon. I don’t know anyone who is out and gay the sport.

I know the feelg of beg secretly gay a macho-domated sport.

Beg such a macho sport where domance is the goal ed some of his fellow petors to ially qutn whether Seth-Wenzel actually was gay. “It was basilly like the other fighters wanted a nfirmatn om me if I was gay or not.

GAY KARATE HAPPY HOUR: KICKS AND PUNCH AND SAKE, "OH MY!"

They had obvly seen pictur of me and my boyiend on Instagram, but still they need to hear om me that I was gay. My nt was also gay and, therefore I knew that my fay would accept , but still felt very hard tellg them. Michelle Gay is not one of them.

Now 46 years old, Gay has been practicg Japane full-ntact karate for over 20 years and is now a karate Shihan, or a master teacher.

“You know, ’s jt tremendoly fulfillg, ” said Gay at her wt 18th street stud, “Like ’s a really great life to who I get to be for people as a lear and as someone who empowers people and actually provis an environment for them to disver the nate power that they have, the nate bety that they poss, the grace, and to jt have them take wherever they are to the next level. Gay has won multiple tournaments, both natnally and ternatnally. After so much triumph throughout her martial arts reer, Gay is brought to tears when she thks about what her particular practice has tght her after so many years.