Over the years we've had a number of women who have graced the mats of our Jiu-Jitsu class, however not as many as I would like to see. This is certainly a discipline that is male dominated, but by no means an exclusive club. True, it's physically demanding, but also often misunderstood. I've been told on more than one occasion that our class looks like a bunch of macho sweaty jocks rolling around on the mat. I think that perception mostly comes about because we're the first class to show up in the afternoon. By the time the other folks start filtering into the dojo, we're pretty much through the technique instruction and are getting started on open mat time.
I think it's a big step for most women to walk onto our mat to join in the class. It's definitely a road less traveled. I'd like to take a moment and let you know about some of the women who have dedicated themselves to learning Jiu-Jitsu.
Amy is my highest ranking student. Unfortunately due to her current work schedule, she only shows up once in a blue moon. Amy studied Daitoryu Akijujitsu and has a brown belt in Judo. Having to always grapple with larger, stronger opponents, Amy quickly learned how to refine her technique to overcome anyone trying to overpower her with brute strength. She's tapped me out more than once and is a force to be reckoned with.
Lori and her daughter Karen were regulars for quite awhile until Karen began focusing on her high school wrestling. Both women began there studies in Judo. Karen holds an impressive wrestling record and was the girls' number one runner last year for her high school.
Carmen and Anna started coming together, both starting out in Judo. I think we've lost Anna completely to Judo, but Carmen still makes it to Jiu-Jitsu when she can.
Our most recent woman to be regularly attending is Sarah (I apologize if I don't have the spelling correct). Sarah is a natural. She had never trained in Jiu-Jitsu before, but has a strong background in other martial arts, holding black belts in Goju-Ryu Karate and Kobudo (weapons). Those are just the ones I know about. From day one, I was impressed with her ability to take in new information and readily apply it. She already has a strong grasp of body mechanics. The thing that impressed me the most though, is her fighting spirit. Without even blinking an eye, she'll take on the biggest person in the class in an all out grappling match, and she fights to win!
Everything about Sarah when she's in class, the way she presents herself, conducts herself, and jumps in with both feet, is all about putting herself out there for the sake of learning. It is truly inspirational.
I have previously posted some videos of some of the women in action. Although this next video is not one of our female fighters, I thought it would be fitting to post this video of Gazzy Parman, one hell of a tough competitor!
Video Description:
Name: Ghazaleh "Gazzy" Parman
Weight: 130 lbs.
Height: 5'6"
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada USA
Assassin. Lover. Enigma. Driven by tragedy, honed by training, the femme fatale known as Gazzy kills for hire, loves for thrills...and leaves destruction in her wake!
1/30/09
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6 comments:
"a bunch of macho sweaty jocks" . . . LOL. i don't know what it is, but hearing that makes me laugh.
great article and video, especially the first 10 seconds of the video . . .
I find, based on conversations with lots of female jits fighters at tournaments, in my school, and on the web, that women who gravitate to jits tend to enjoy that contrast-- between being seen as feminine creatures and as tough competitors, between strength and technique, between "how girls should be" and "how this grrrl is"... If we're patient, we will eventually see that Helio was right: jiu jitsu is for the weaker and smaller, using principles of body mechanics and physics to overcome mere strength. I'm so excited to see more and more lady athletes in this wonderful sport.
I must say that at the beginning I was a bit scared of the sport.. And now I love it. It makes me happy when I can actually make it to class, even though its not as often as I would like.. (this week I can't make it to the Dojo at all! =( its sad!) but I am very grateful of how well we as women are welcomed in the class, and there is much to learn when working with those who are bigger and stronger than you.. even though I am not really little =) I am so happy and proud to be a part of our Dojo and our Dojo Family!
Thanks for teaching us as well as you do Conan! and thanks to all the guys and gals who work hard in all the arts, and help us all feel welcomed in which ever class we want to venture into even if it is just for one class..
As the Amy that Conan was talking about I can add a few things. When I started 5 years ago, I had been watch the class for a few month...it was right before Judo. Since there was only two people in the class at the time and they were both very skilled and prone to practicing a little MMA as well I was really intimidated. But I decided that my ground work in Judo needed some help and decided to give it a try. At about that time Conan had started and the class started looking more class like and not a 1 hour MMA match. I was hooked after the first class. It is so much fun.
I didn't win very often that first year in class when we had open mat and didn't even realize how much I was improving until a new person would show up. I only found out how much I had learned when I discovered that no matter how strong the new person was I could out technique their strength.
Working with people who were of equal to better technique caused my goals to consist of not getting tapped out after 30 seconds and then I would just extend that time each time I would go against someone until I could get them into a submission. For anyone who has gone against Darin Brudigan, our initial teacher, lasting a long time is almost like winning. It is hard to be the new person and not know any techniques and get submitted all the time...but new people just have to realize that the longer you are in the more you learn and then the matches start to become more competative.
As Conan said I modified some of the techniques to work for me as a weaker person...I don't think that this is any different then a person with short legs or short arms or not very much flexablility changing a technique to fit the capabilities of one's physical assests. By not having much strength I couldn't get frustrated and use muscle to get out (since I didn't have much) and that made me work on technique more. I managed to developed some very strong defense and protect my limbs more than a stronger person.
I spent years telling other female to join the class and the reply was that I was an insane person for being in the class. I often got that from other males as well that I told should try out the class. However, being in the class allowed me to win my first Judo competitions and in Judo class it was clear that I was starting to excell on the ground past males and females that had been going to Judo longer then me. There are things that are illegal in Judo that you can do in Jui-Jitsu, but that doesn't mean it isn't good cross training. I am glad that females have started coming to class because it is fun and Jiu-Jitsu is for all types of people to enjoy and learn.
Thank you for your comments and insight, Georgette. It's good to get your perspective on the topic.
Carmen and Amy, I appreciate your input as well. I've spent a lot of time working to break many of the stereotypes of grappling. Of course it's always easier when we have more women in the class.
I had planned on coming to Jui Jitsu after I'm done healing again, but now that I hear Sara's going, forget it! Just kidding, I love Sara, but she is insane!
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