What do I know, I only have a history of direct action as an anarchist.
Antifa is a set of tactics and actions done specifically in opposition to fascist organizing. That lady who died at Charlottesville died being antifa.
There have been people who engaged in antifa before the modern fascism problem. The need is rising. Some will claim that label and when they do it’s their right as long as they do what it says on the tin. It’s a lot like food not bombs in that way. You aren’t FNB because you gave away free vegan food, but you don’t have to get permission to use that label if you’re giving away free vegan food and there’s no organization or hierarchy. It’s just a thing you can do and a label you can claim in the doing.
The problem is that it’s been demonized and used as a label for those not claiming it. But head on down to your local punk scene and there’s probably someone with an antifa patch who may very well have punched a Nazi