OC LIVE invites you to join us for “The Lioness Within: An Evening with Graciela Casillas” on Wednesday, April 9th, at 6pm in the beautiful Oxnard College Performing Arts Building.
Oxnard College’s ownGracielaCasillasjoins us for a conversation after a screening of the documentary about her life, The Lioness Within. MeetGracielaCasillas, a pioneering, undefeated world champion in martial arts. Her story unfolds a hidden champion breaking barriers for women, embodying resilience, and embracing empowerment. A celebration of martial arts and a transformative teacher-student dynamic.
This is a FREE event that is open to the public. No tickets are necessary. Parking is FREE in Lot “H.” Find all of our livestreams and event information on the web at.
Artist Bio:
GracielaCasillas is a Black Belt Hall of Fame inductee, "Woman of theYear," and Inside Kung-Fu Hall of Fame member. She hasearnedinternational acclaim as one of the world's top martial artistsand self-defense instructors. Casillas’s 50 years as student,instructor,and professional competitor have given her an eclecticapproach to the martial arts that she shares with students at home andabroad.
Casillas is the first athlete, male or female, to simultaneously holdworld titles in two fighting sports — kickboxing and boxing. Casillasalso achieved world champion status in Filipino stick fighting and wasthe first and only woman to be certified in the advancedlevelof instructor under the late Grandmaster Angel Cabales.
After retiring with an undefeated record, she spent the last threedecades incorporating her knowledge and experience to formulateahighly effective street defense system. Her devotion to martialarts, coupled with two advanced degrees in Education,and PhysicalEducation, has led Casillas to dedicate herself to thepromotion of self-defense as a teacher, student, and accomplished writerandjournalist.
Casillas has trained in a diversity of martial arts systems and is acertified Close Protection Specialist and graduate of ExecutiveSecurityInternational (ESI), an elite school for executive protection specialists,and the Lethal Force Institute (LFI).
Whennot in training, Casillas, who retired as a tenured counselor, professor anddepartment chair of counseling continues to advisecollege students as anadjunct at Oxnard College. As department chair of the physical educationdepartment, she developed a varietyof courses for the department ensuringthat students are able to take jujitsu, escrima, boxing, kickboxing,self-defense, and healthcourses, which transferto any Cal State University (CSU) or the University of California(UC) for university credit.
Prime Video is currently airing a documentary on her life as a professional fighter: The Lioness Within Documentary and she also has published a women's self-defense book called The Lioness Within.
Oxnard College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or sexual orientation.
El Colegio de Oxnard no discrimina por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, sexo, discapacidad, edad u orientación sexual.
