Strengthening Kapwa through Decolonizing Fitness

With a combined 50 years worth of martial arts, combat sports, and physical fitness training, the Sawi Siblings will present different perspectives on how to decolonize and dismantle Western fitness culture and the ways that vanity, self-sabotage, sexism, misogyny, and toxic masculinity tarnish spaces that have the ability to uplift and bring people to their highest potential. They will show how to bring the element of Kapwa back to these spaces and how to develop a growth mindset. The Sawi Siblings will demonstrate ways that you can incorporate fitness into your life so that you can nurture your physical body and then integrate the learnings into your whole self. They will explore the benefits of nourishing your mental, spritual, and emotional bodies in order to cultivate your physical body, and how to use breath to strengthen your entire being. 

About Olivia and Ollie Sawi

The Sawi Siblings, with Olivia being 8.5 years older than Oliver, are part of a multigenerational household on Tamyen Ohlone Territory, in Sunnyvale, CA with their families and their parents.They are the children of Nati Labalan Sawi of Magallanes, Sorosogon, and Michael Balanon Sawi of Sunnyvale, California, by way of San Jose, Nueve Ecija and Rosario, La Union.   Olivia is a martial artist, healer, educator and academic, musician, momma, and more. For over 25 years, she has studied various martial arts and combat sports including Shotokan Karate, Capoeira, Kung Fu, Fencing, Muay Thai, Kul Sool Won, and Brazilian Jiujitsu. She is currently a purple belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu under Milton Bastos and is the Kids Team Coach at Lanistae Academy in Los Altos, California. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer with an emphasis on Youth Exercise, and is also a Preciscion Nutrition Level 1 Coach. Olivia studied healing arts at Cypress Health Institute in Santa Cruz, California and the Body Therapy Center in Palo Alto, California, where she studied Esalen Bodywork, visionary craniosacral work, trigger point release therapy, and energetic release work. Olivia has her Master's in 20th Century History, where she focused on Labor Movements and Filipino-American History. She has been involved with the Center for Babaylan Studies since 2010 and has been a Core Member since 2017. Olivia grew up a musician, and has played kulintang music since 2010, studying and performing with the late Master Danny Kalanduyan and his students. She is the proud momma to her son Kalayo, whom she raises with her wife Annie. Olivia’s life experiences help guide her desire to assist people in searching for their deeper meaning and purpose, and in achieving their full potential.   

Email: o.g.sawi@gmail.com 

Instagram: @oliviaofdoom 

Facebook: facebook.com/oliviaofdoom 

centerforbabaylanstudies.org/podcast