Opened Summer 2026, The Warrior Women Exhibit is a groundbreaking installation, honoring the critical and often unrecognized role of women in warfare, cultural preservation and the protection of indigenous lands.
Curated by Kumu (Hawaiian for teacher) Michelle Manu, a 10th Degree Black Belt, the exhibit is the first of its kind, globally to center on women as protectors, strategists and carriers of martial knowledge. A modern-day woman warrior and cultural educator, Manu is a teacher and lineage architect of the sacred Hawaiian art of Lua.
“This is not about adding women into history—it’s about correcting the record of what has always been true,” declares Manu. “For centuries, women’s contributions have been minimized or obscured. This exhibit restores balance, accuracy, and truth. Women were never absent from the history of war—only from the way it has been told. This exhibit restores what was never missing.”
The Warrior Women Exhibit Unveiling–including the official ribbon cutting–was held on Saturday August 22, 2026 beginning at 4:00 pm PDT. Hosted by the Martial Arts History Museum in Glendale, California, this event marked the first time women were being honored in a martial arts museum.