At SOMA, we have always believed that academic research is one of the fundamental pillars of our work. Our mission goes beyond the tatami; we aim to be advocates for integrating martial arts as a powerful tool for social change, backed by rigorous scientific evidence. This is why we are so excited to share our recent collaboration with Kristina Stankova, a PhD student in the Sports Science program at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).
Kristina’s doctoral research focuses on the lived experiences of refugee and migrant women within community-based physical activity initiatives. During our Spring 2026 program, Kristina joined the SOMA community and rather than observing from the sidelines, she embraced a participatory approach that we deeply value: she joined our classes, engaged in our educational workshop as a facilitator, and conducted interviews with both our participants and martial art trainers.
One of the most impactful moments of this collaboration was her participation in our workshop where she presented existing education and training opportunities tailored for our participants. Navigating the complex landscape of education and training in a new city like Barcelona can be challenging for migrant and refugee women. Often, even when resources and courses are available for free, they remain inaccessible due to formal misunderstandings or a lack of clear guidance on how to gain entry. Kristina’s workshop provided clear information on university opportunities, language courses, and employment support to help our participants turn their aspirations into concrete steps.
For SOMA, supporting researchers like Kristina is about developing a "living lab" where practice and research continuously inform one another. We believe in an academic approach that is feminist, decolonial, participatory, and based on the principle of reciprocity.