Is This You?
- Female martial artist / senior female martial arts instructor
- Available to work flexible hours
- Passionate about ending violence in the local community
- Wants to make a difference
- Interested in improving presentation skills
Why Become a KYUP! Instructor?
- Flexible working hours
- Great networks and connections
- Make a real difference in your community
- Develop your leadership skills
- Improve your presentation skills
- Build valuable experience for your career
- Earn a rewarding income while making a real difference
If this sounds like you, apply today.
KYUP! Project is Australia's premier violence prevention and empowerment program for teens.
At KYUP! Project our goal is to end the cycle of violence at a grassroots level. Our workshops have been delivered to more than 30,000 young people in schools across Australia and NZ.
We inspired young people to value and champion their safety and wellbeing and to break through limiting self-doubt.
KYUP! Project is a proven self-worth and self-defence program designed to help girls and women build confidence, develop practical skills and create safer communities.
Developed with expertise across:
- Policing & community safety
- Psychology & education
- Martial arts & self-defence
- Leadership & personal development
As a KYUP! instructor, you’re not just teaching martial arts. You’re helping change lives, build confidence and create safer communities—while developing valuable leadership, communication and presentation skills of your own.
If you are a female martial arts instructor who is looking to make a real difference in your community; all while making excellent connections and learning valuable skills - KYUP! Project is for you!
If this sounds like you, apply today.
MEL THOMAS
THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND KYUP! PROJECT
As Australia comes together to try and address our current epidemic of domestic violence, one woman is using her own experience to help empower young people to find their voice and learn about positive relationships. Mel Thomas is a writer, speaker, media commentator, mother of two girls and black belt with more than 20 years of martial arts experience in Hapkido, the Korean art of self-defence. In 2013, Mel founded the KYUP! Project in response to a wave of child-on-child assaults and family violence reports in her local area. Pronounced KEY-UP! and named after a martial arts power shout, KYUP! is giving girls a voice.
Find out why Mel is so passionate about self-worth and self-defence
Find out why Mel is so passionate about self-worth and self-defense. Watch now.
She Didn't Wait Until She Felt Ready. She Just Started.
Meet Ashlyn Hunt, a Central Coast local, 2026 Maitland Local Woman of the Year nominee, and proof that one “yes” can ripple through an entire community.
Ashlyn applied to become a KYUP! Instructor in November 2023. She had the passion. She had the drive. What she didn’t have yet was the experience of standing in front of a classroom and leading a workshop. In 2024, she officially joined the KYUP! team, and she took the time to train and observe under founder Mel Thomas and build those skills properly. In 2025, at just 18 years old, she facilitated her very first workshop.
Today, Ashlyn is a certified KYUP! Instructor and a familiar face in schools across Maitland and Hunter Region. She walks into rooms full of kids who’ve never been told they’re strong, and she leaves having changed how they see themselves. Workshop by workshop, she’s helping rewrite what safety, confidence, and self-worth look like for the next generation of young women. Along the way, she’s built a name for herself as a leader worth recognising in her own community.
“My mission is to continue my passion for empowering young females to speak up and build courage and self-protection.”
— Ashlyn Hunt
This is what it looks like to become a KYUP! instructor. You don’t need to arrive with every skill in place, and you don’t need to be in a rush. You build what you need, at your own pace, with real support behind you.
An excellent opportunity for students and women working part-time. KYUP! Instructor roles fit around your life, not the other way around. Whether you’re studying, juggling part-time work, or building a career alongside your martial arts journey, there’s a place for you here.
You don’t need to be a black belt. Senior belts are welcome to apply. What matters most is your heart, your drive, and your willingness to be trained and to show up for the next generation. Together, we build confidence. We build skills. We build safer communities.
Ashlyn applied to become a KYUP! Instructor in November 2023. She had the passion. She had the drive. What she didn’t have yet was the experience of standing in front of a classroom and leading a workshop. In 2024, she officially joined the KYUP! team, and she took the time to train and observe under founder Mel Thomas and build those skills properly. In 2025, at just 18 years old, she facilitated her very first workshop.
Today, Ashlyn is a certified KYUP! Instructor and a familiar face in schools across Maitland and Hunter Region. She walks into rooms full of kids who’ve never been told they’re strong, and she leaves having changed how they see themselves. Workshop by workshop, she’s helping rewrite what safety, confidence, and self-worth look like for the next generation of young women. Along the way, she’s built a name for herself as a leader worth recognising in her own community.
“My mission is to continue my passion for empowering young females to speak up and build courage and self-protection.”
— Ashlyn Hunt
This is what it looks like to become a KYUP! instructor. You don’t need to arrive with every skill in place, and you don’t need to be in a rush. You build what you need, at your own pace, with real support behind you.
An excellent opportunity for students and women working part-time. KYUP! Instructor roles fit around your life, not the other way around. Whether you’re studying, juggling part-time work, or building a career alongside your martial arts journey, there’s a place for you here.
You don’t need to be a black belt. Senior belts are welcome to apply. What matters most is your heart, your drive, and your willingness to be trained and to show up for the next generation. Together, we build confidence. We build skills. We build safer communities.
Join the movement
Application Form
Fill in the form below and we'll be in touch to talk about becoming a KYUP! Project instructor in your community.
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