Karate has gained popularity as an effective self-defence technique, offering numerous physical and psychological benefits for women. While its impacts on these domains are well-documented, there is limited research on its influence in social domains. The present study aimed to explore the leadership preferences of self-defence-trained women. To accomplish the above objectives, the present study included a total of 186 female college students aged 18 to 22 years, comprised of 92 karate-trained and 94 untrained participants. The karate-trained group regularly practice karate, while the untrained group had no martial arts or other training experience. Leadership preferences were evaluated using the Leadership Preference Scale. To observe the effect of karate program on leadership preferences, the karate group was compared by using an Independent t-test with untrained participants of the same characteristics. The results showed that most participants (approximately 80%) preferred moderate to above-average democratic leadership levels. Karate-trained women averagely preferred above-average democratic leadership, while untrained women leaned toward moderate levels. A notable difference emerged between the groups (p = 0.04), with karate-trained women showing a greater preference for democratic leadership style. The study concluded that self-defence training significantly impacts women’s leadership preferences by promoting the democratic style, which may promote essential social qualities such as mentorship, teamwork, effective group interactions, etc.