Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabina Storberg.
Sabina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story starts in the mountains of China. More than a decade ago I moved there to live and train with Shaolin and Wudang monks, and over two years the straight sword became an extension of my body. That time taught me discipline, resilience, and what consistent practice can unlock.
From there I moved to Rishikesh, India, where I became a yoga teacher and saw how a steady vinyasa practice transforms both body and mind. I still missed the sword. The idea to bring these two worlds together began to take shape and root inside my brain.
However, I still chose to return to the real world to finish my degrees and build a career. I completed a bachelor’s in Chemistry and a master’s in Sustainability Management and spent nine years working with the United Nations. Through all of it, the practice stayed with me. In my off hours I dedicated my time to creating what can be simply called sword yoga, fusing the kung fu straight sword with vinyasa yoga into a powerful, beautiful experience on the mat.
That practice became WeaponUp. My story and WeaponUp’s are closely linked, but today WeaponUp is bigger than me. It lives in a vibrant global community of practitioners discovering strength, grace, and confidence—one flow, one strike, one class at a time.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road.
I dreamed about WeaponUP for over twelve years and kept practicing on my own, but I didn’t yet have the confidence to go all in. My career was also accelerating, which made it harder to risk everything on an unknown practice and wonder if it would resonate. Then I met my now husband—and co-founder—who said, “You can be replaced at work; your dream can’t.” With that push, I built the first platform and an initial library of classes.
The timing was wild. The same month I launched the online studio, I found out I was pregnant. Overnight, I had to adapt the way I taught—through pregnancy and then postpartum. There were a lot of early mornings and late nights. In February 2025, the month our daughter was born, we launched a new custom platform he built, and we went all in as a family—raising a baby and a business at the same time. I’m now almost nine months postpartum, still refining, filming, and growing.
Since then, WeaponUP’s momentum has brought on new instructors and a small team. The most rewarding part is watching the community take off online. Every time a member shares their practice or their progress, I’m reminded why the hard path was worth it: to bring more strength, grace, and beauty into people’s lives through this practice.
We’ve been impressed with WeaponUp, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
WeaponUp is the original sword yoga fusion online platform, combining the tai chi straight sword with vinyasa yoga to create a practice that builds real confidence while feeling elegant and athletic. All our classes are online and on-demand supporting a progressive growth from absolute beginner to graceful warrior. Inside the online studio you will find structured series like Ten Days to Sword Mastery, Drills and Basics, Foundations and Flow, Sword and Core, plus meditation and qigong inspired work. If you want the full experience, we offer a Sword plus Membership option that ships a practice sword to your door, and we accept HSA and FSA payments.
What sets us apart is that we are the originators of this fusion and we treat it with the respect of both lineages. The martial technique of the straight sword is taught with accuracy, then woven into rhythmic vinyasa so the result feels powerful, graceful, and accessible. Our vision is clear: normalize this practice globally so people everywhere can feel empowered, graceful, and confident on and off the mat.
Brand wise, I am most proud of the community that has formed around WeaponUP. It is now bigger than my story. Our members are 99 percent women from around the world, and the community continues to grow. Seeing their progress and hearing how the practice changes the way they carry themselves is the best proof of what WeaponUP stands for: disciplined practice that looks beautiful, feels fun, and leaves you stronger in every sense.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see our space moving toward skill-based, personalized, and community-led movement—and I want sword yoga to be normalized within that shift. The benefits I’ve experienced from kung fu training (tai chi, Shaolin, qigong) combined with vinyasa yoga and the discipline of the straight sword are profound—physical strength and mobility, yes, but also focus, confidence, and calm. Over the next 5–10 years, I believe those mind-body outcomes will matter more than ever.
AI will accelerate true personalization: programs that adapt to your energy, cycle, recovery, and goals in real time. At the same time, people will gravitate to practices that teach real skills rather than endless reps. That’s where WeaponUP lives. We give you a new movement language—the sword—then invite you to move in your way. It isn’t just another squat or lunge. It’s a practice that changes how you feel from the inside out.
My hope and intention is that sword yoga becomes part of everyday life with a growing global community of practitioners—mostly women—who feel empowered, graceful, and confident because of what they practice on the mat and carry into the rest of their lives.
Pricing:
- Monthly Membership – 24.99 a month
- Yearly Membership – 239.99 a year
- Monthly Sword + Membership Bundle – 64.99 (once) + 24.99 a month
- Yearly Sword + Membership Bundle – 64.99 (once) + 239.99 a year
Contact Info:
- Website: https://weaponup.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theweaponup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theweaponup/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WeaponUP
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theweaponup
