“We have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.” -Odette Russell

Do not miss this captivating interview with Odette Russell. Click on the link below to listen to the podcast:

Podcast Highlights: 

Stalked by a drug dealer as a teen and young woman, Odette Russell knows a thing or two about the importance of protecting yourself and being a strong woman. Since her early years, she has dedicated much of her life to training in martial arts and teaching self-defense, as well as being a mother, wife, and a professional worker. Today, she is a Grandmaster with more than 41 years of martial art experience.

Her dabbling in martial arts as a youth turned to dedicated committment when she met her husband, Sijo Abdul Mutakabbir, the founder of SWAM Martial Arts Academy. Odette also accomplished huge personal goals outside the martial arts, included earning a Ph.D in Health Psychology in 2018. She is a steadfast advocate of wellness & quality of life.  Find out more about this amazing martial art woman, her extreme training regiments, and her dedication to martial arts in this empowering martial art interview.

Bio: 

If one was to observe her from the distance, it wouldn’t appear that Odette Russell is a martial artist with more than 40 years of training. They would see her as a girly girl with a tomboyish edge who loves to wear red lipstick, eyeliner, and beached tight jeans with combat boots. However, the biggest aspect of her life is being a martial artist and by speaking to her you will realize that there is nothing she knows better than that.

Although the serious part of her martial arts training started at the age of 18 years old, she actually started training Ji Do Kwon Tae Kwon Do for 1 year at the age of 9, in 1971, under Master Jo Almeda.  Not exceeding past a yellow belt as a child, that quickly changed as an adult as her martial arts training stayed continuous, with minimal breaks, up until the present day (even throughout her two pregnancies).  This commitment of training as well as teaching occurred soon after meeting her husband—the iconic martial artist, Sijo Abdul Mutakabbir.

Sijo Abdul Mutakabbir, the founder of SWAM Martial Arts Academy, practices martial arts just as much as he breathes. When she first met him, with no exaggeration, he trained on an average of 10 hours per day, committing himself to hardcore extreme workouts. As a consequence, Odette had to train at least half of that time. For 6 days a week, her 5 hour workout sessions consisted of katas, sparring, weaponry, drills, calisthenics, weights, and cardio training. This training occurred in the dojo, public parks, as well as in their living room.  On the 7th day, Sunday, there was no rest. It was on that day that she tested her martial arts skills by competing in semi-contact tournaments.

In essence, martial arts training was not only her husband’s full-time job, but quickly became her second job. She had to know her katas so well that she was able to perform them at any given time despite what she wore or how she felt. She didn’t just develop muscle memory with the martial skills she acquired, she also built an in-depth understanding of each individual move, as well as the in-between moves.  Her type of rigorous training she endured was common for martial artists during that era as she had to keep up with the SWAM training during her husband’s peek training period.

During Odette’s days as a newbie in the 1980s, she was the only female student within the SWAM system.  This meant that all of her training sessions, including sparring, were only with male counterparts.  Her husband ran his school strict under a serious atmosphere, no playing, no laughing, no water drinking, only training.  Rank was NEVER discussed nor did they have promotion ceremonies. Although it was secretly on her mind, she never revealed her frustration with the lack of ranking that existed to anyone, especially her instructor or the other students.

Furthermore, while it is perceived that there are benefits to being married to your instructor, she received no special treatment nor had any power of persuasion. The only benefits (which was and is the best of benefits) were the level of training underwent and witnessing an icon martial artist come into his own.

Odette’s first semi-contact tournament was three months after she had her first child, in 1983.  She competed within the women’s intermediate underbelt kata division, against women that were green, blue, and brown belts.  During those day there were up to 30-40 women that she had to compete against.  To her joy, she placed what she believed to be second or third place.  That was an amazing natural high for her placing and receiving a trophy in her first tournament.  She competed for the balanced of the 80s until she got pregnant again in 1990.  During those competitive days she participated in both katas and kumite women’s divisions within the tri-state NYC areas, where 75% of her wins were in 1st place.

The more she trained, the more she understood that the concept that martial arts is first and foremost spiritual then mental, with the elements of physicality being last. Character building was indeed more important than learning how to kick and punch. She was able to better develop this analogy when they moved to Atlanta, 1991, and opened the SWAM’s southern division.  At this school her skills in running a business was more exercised than teaching and training.  This of course was frustrating to her as she found herself training less and conducting the operational duties of an administrator.  Her rewards were quickly returned when she saw the SWAM system grow in what turned out to be one of their most successful schools.

With their primary income coming from NYC’s security business, she also ran the Atlanta dojo while her husband traveled to NY very often.  The primary responsibility of opening, running, and closing the school four days a week, (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday) was hers when her husband was out of town.  She did this with two young sons, the youngest being about 5 months and the oldest 8 years.  During the week she closed the school sometimes after 10pm, getting home close to 11pm.  She committed this time and energy to running this dojo for almost 7 years.  At that point she was given the title Sidagoo, which means “Mother of SWAM” and “Head Female Instructor”.

By 1998, she received the sanction from her husband/instructor to form her own female division of SWAM, which allowed her martial arts creativity to flourish.  During this period she was a 5th degree black belt with 19 years of martial arts training.  This transition felt right as she had the qualifications of thousands of hours of mat work, almost a decade of tournament participation, approximately 15 years of instructing students, and 7 years of operating a successful dojo.  Currently, twenty two years later, the division of SWAM that she created has received the respect from her instructor, her martial arts peers, and the martial arts community as a whole as she was able to teach hundreds of females and produced 6 dedicated female black belts.

To name a few, Odette received multiple accomplished awards that include “Women of the Year for 2016 & 2017, Grandmaster Contribution & Life Achievements 2016, AMAA Who’s Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame 2017, Grandmaster of the Year 2017, Dr. Moses Powell Distinguished Lifetime Leadership Science Award 2018, and 2019 AWMAI Hall of Fame Inductee honored for 30+ years of martial arts dedication.  Publications that has featured her bio includes Black Heroes of the Martial Arts — Volume II By Shidoshi Ron Van Clief and Glenn Perry, Who’s Who in the Martial Arts — Volume III By Grandmaster Jessie Bowen, and in April 2017 – The UK’s Martial Arts Illustrated on Page 72 By Andrea Harkins

In 2018 she received her PhD in Health Psychology.  On January 2019, she was promoted to 9th degree black belt, received the title as Grandmaster, and became designated inheritor to the SWAM Martial Arts Academy System.  Professionally, she is the Assistant Director of Wellness and Community Affairs for the Whole Life Heath Center and conducts her “Life Defense Workshops” at the Living Foods Institutes.  She is able to merge both aspects of her skills as a top rank martial artist and a specialist in health psychology to establish the respect in the Atlanta wellness industry as a wellness advocate and health educator that conducts self-defense and wellness workshops to various businesses, religious facilities, and colleges.

Links & Info: 

Odette’s website:  drodetterussell.net

Andrea’s Inspirational Books and Websites:

Andrea’s Motivational Books: