Does knife-fighting and jiu-jitsu count as "contact sports"? 'Cause that's what my dad taught me from my youth. 🤣

(Dad was not your normal father.)

But yes, it's hard to find an assertive role model in life, which is why early in my career it was easy to walk all over me. All culture (pop or otherwise) around you insists you should be meek, forbearing, tolerant, and nurturing and that any woman who doesn't fall into this model is a "pushy broad" or "bitch" or whatnot. It's very hard to find any strong feminine role models that aren't just "men with tits" on one end of the scale or "bitches who deserve a comeuppance" on the other.