These photos go inside an east Berlin, all-female fight club

Female Fight Club is a place where a bodybuilder can challenge a black belt in jiu-jitsu or a beginner, where fighting can take the form of wrestling or catfighting and where women aren’t categorised based on weight or height but instead on their determination to throw down. “The events focus on the competition and its thrill, no matter how skilled you are,” says photographer Katarzyna Mazur, who took to shooting the club in all its glory for this series.

“I like the idea of contradiction; something that is contradicting the perspective of modern women in society” – Katarzyna Mazur

Headed up by Anna Konda and Red Devil and based in an eastern district of Berlin called Marzahn, Mazur adds that the Club’s events usually last a few hours, which includes several breaks where the fighters get to know one another. With no judge, just someone who knows the rules, she adds, “Even though inhibition and fear do not exist on the mat, the women are aware of injuries that can happen. They respect each other and stop a fight if someone is seriously hurt.”

Recalling the first fight she saw at the Club, she reveals, “I was quite shocked. I had never seen something like that before and it was really interesting to experience the intensity so close. I like the idea of contradiction; something that is contradicting the perspective of modern women in society. But also, someone who is contradicting me, in the way they are. I enjoy exploring new worlds, especially a world which exists in a grey area.”

To see more of Mazur’s work, click here