To answer your question, if you feel the judges will get that this is still a defensive pose then keep it. If there's some doubt and you think this isn't what it should be then you should change it.
Personally it's seems relaxed more than defensive, but, I think if you changed the face to be smiling, then she'll read as a overconfident character. This is how I read the character. Besides that this is badass. The contest doesn't end into the feb.8 so you have time to try more poses. The light setup and everything else looks awesome.