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Rachel Cerimele was never overconfident.
She was shy. She had struggles with depression. Like most women, she thought about her safety each time she walked out the door.
Then she found a gym.
Cincy Women’s Fight Club, a nonprofit at 3651 Harrison Ave. in Cheviot, teaches self-defense to women and girls ages 12 and older.
“I was like, ‘OK, I’ll give it a shot,'” Cerimele said. “I’ve never worked out before. I’ve never been in a sport before.”
Three years after walking through the door, Cerimele has compiled a 9-8-3 record across 20 bouts. Now, she helps train other women at the gym.
What Cerimele found was more than a workout.
“Coming here over time, I started becoming physically more capable,” Cerimele said. “I realized what I was capable of. Now, I’m mentally stronger too.”
Gym owner Gary Pekoe founded the nonprofit in 2015 to teach women to prepare for potential attacks. According to the National Domestic Violence Institute, nearly three in 10 women in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a partner. A 2023 study from the National Institutes of Health reports that approximately 1.5 million intimate partner female rapes and physical assaults are perpetrated annually in the U.S.
“As a woman, you think about that every day,” Cerimele said. “Every time I leave my house, I think about it. I have some peace of mind, at least I know a little bit. It makes you feel a little safer.”
Pekoe said seeing Cerimele transform into a more confident woman has been special.
“Rachel has never done anything athletic in her life,” he said. “Now she’s our trainer. She went from 110 pounds to 130 pounds of muscle.”
Cerimele almost didn’t stay.
“I always found myself coming back,” she said. “I would take breaks, but I would find myself missing it.”
The gym was named a CityBeat Best of Cincinnati winner for martial arts gyms in the Family and Health category, earning more than five times as many votes as other martial arts gyms.
A typical session begins with boxing drills on punching bags, moves into kicking circuits and then stretching.
“You don’t want to stretch cold muscles,” Pekoe said.
Members spend about 20 minutes on technique before sparring.
“We’re teaching them basic submissions: rear-naked chokes, arm bars, Americana — the kind of stuff you see in UFC,” Pekoe said. “About 80% of what we teach is mental: how to think like a fighter, how not to be a victim.”
Trainer Kat Davidson said the women-only environment makes that possible.
“It’s a very intimate sport,” Davidson said. “You’re up close and personal with your partner the whole time. I think women just inherently have a greater trust in one another in that kind of setting.”
Member Jazmyne Mink said the gym offers something traditional martial arts programs do not.
“Here, you get to focus on either taming or harnessing that wild woman inside while building real skills,” she said. “You learn to trust your instincts and follow your intuition.”
Cerimele said the community surprised her most.
“I realized quickly how close everybody was,” she said. “It’s a very safe place here. I felt very comfortable with everybody.”
Cerimele said she is not the woman who walked in three years ago. She runs. She works out every day. She trains others to do what she once thought impossible.
She still thinks about her safety when she leaves the house, but she thinks about it differently now.
“I have some sort of peace of mind,” she said, “that at least I know a little bit.”
This article appears in Best of Cincinnati 2026.
