Category Archives: Fenomenal Women

Black Belt Corner with Cindy Omatsu

07 Thursday Aug 2014

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cindyCindy Omatsu was born on January 19, 1961, and started training in July of 1994 at Redondo Beach, California. She walked by the aerobic room at Gold’s Gym, and saw a bunch of guys rolling around on a big mat. At that time a lot of women in South Bay area were being attacked, so she thought it would be a great idea to learn some self-defense. She was hoping to find another woman in class but there were none. The one thing that really got her attention was when her training partner grabbed her wrist. The strength and force of a man’s grip was hard to deal with, and she realized why women would just give up when attacked. She was hooked after the first class. At the same time Cindy’s family was going through a rough time because her dad was battling cancer. Every class helped Cindy deal with her dad’s sickness, and gave her strength to help her mom care for him. Sadly, Cindy’s dad passed away.

After training for a year at Gold’s Gym under Renato Magna, she switched to the Machado Academy at Redondo Beach. Cindy received her black belt from Rigan Machado and Leka Vieira in 2002, making her the first American, as well as the first woman outside of Brazil to receive a black belt in BJJ. Cindy is currently teaching at Let’s Roll Academy in Torrence, and at The Brentwood Club in West LA. She is the OG of women’s BJJ in the US, and her contribution to the sport is invaluable.

What was the most challenging belt level for you?

I feel that my purple belt was one of my toughest belts. This is the belt where you learn which techniques really work for you, and your body type. Your game is really developing here, and you are learning to perfect your moves. I have had many purple belts tell me that they feel stuck or plateau at this belt. At purple belt level it feels like you advance five steps, and then get knocked back down ten. As an instructor, purple belt is where I see a lot of improvement, and growth in my students. With a lot of mat time, and consistent training the rewards will pay off!

What advice would you give to women?

Cindy Omatsu

Women who are at white or blue belt level, ask your instructor to watch out for you so that you are training with students who won’t injure you. If you can train with upper belts, do so because they will give you pointers as you roll with them.

I also tell jiu-jitsu women to give yourself kudos if you pass a guy’s guard or hold them in side control or mount. Sometimes you aren’t going to get the tap but you are getting dominant positions, and stabilizing them. Take it as a compliment when a guy starts putting more pressure on you or starts using more strength. It means he is getting frustrated, and your technique is working!

Injuries can happen at any belt level. It is important to let your injuries heal, and be very, very, very patient. I have had my share of injuries with strained MCLs, torn ACL, and shoulder. If you don’t take care of them or let them heal, they will definitely come back, and bite cha in the butt!

Enjoy the experience and journey that each belt level brings. Have fun! If you aren’t learning, and having fun then it is time to quit!

cindyhawaii

Black Belt Corner with Jocelyn Chang

12 Thursday Jun 2014

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gabijocelynJocelyn Chang has been training jiu-jitsu for over two decades. She is a second degree black belt under Leka Vieira and at 4’9” the tiniest black belt in the world. Due to her size she has had to adjust the techniques to fit her frame. Furthermore, she has had to modify her training to protect her chest from any pressure. At the age of 39, in 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Jocelyn underwent double mastectomy, 5 months of chemotherapy, and 30 days of radiation. Two weeks after the radiation treatment was finished, she was back on the mat. Jocelyn is a true inspiration for all women in BJJ. Being small or facing a deadly opponent is nothing when you have a never give up attitude. If you have a chance, try to visit her Let’s Roll BJJ Academy in Torrance, California.

What was the most challenging belt lever for you?

Throughout the years of training, the most challenging belt was my purple belt. As a purple belt you are no longer given a pass for any mistakes. The bad habits that you had at the blue belt level are now gone. You have to own the mistakes you make, and reap the consequences. The fun part of purple belt level is that you get to experiment doing more techniques. Mat time is the must, and that is the only way you will grow and succeed to the next level.

What advice would you give to women who are struggling?

Jocelyn-Chang

It is okay to take a break. Don’t worry, you never forget the basics when you decide to come back from a break. It is like riding a bike. If life completely takes over, BJJ will always be there for you when you find your way back. I’ve had challenging times lately but I don’t see myself giving up the BJJ lifestyle. I’ve recently gone back to working full-time, and still teach at my studio in the evenings. It is too important not to roll. I’m a 3 year cancer survivor, and I believe that doing jiu-jitsu prior to cancer helped me in my recovery both physically and mentally. If you do make time to train regularly, I applaud you. Keep it up, and don’t ever stop rolling!

To read more about Jocelyn Chang, please check out BJJ Legends interview.

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Black Belt Corner with Michelle Wagner

23 Friday May 2014

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michellewagnerMichelle Wagner is one of the first American female black belts in the Pacific Northwest. She is a second degree black belt under the infamous Giva “The Arm Collector” Santana. Michelle started training in April 1998 to keep herself busy after ending a 7-year relationship. She was headed to a karate class when a friend derailed her plans, and took her to jiu-jitsu class instead. Jiu-jitsu became a big part of her life even though the instructors were hard to find. Her biggest influencers over the years were Marcelo Alonso, Juliano Prado, and Giva Santana.

She received her black belt from Marcio “Mamazinho” Laudier in 2007, and currently trains, and teaches part-time at Foster BJJ in Kent, Washington. Michelle focuses on helping her female students, and has been teaching women’s jiu-jitsu camps in Seattle area for the past couple of years. She has also hinted that a comeback to the competition scene is not out of the question.

What was the most challenging belt level for you?

The most challenging time for me in jiu-jitsu was during my years as a blue belt. Our academy was unexpectedly shut down, and that left us wondering what we were going to do next. There were not many choices for us because jiu-jitsu was new to the Pacific Northwest, and academies were few and far between. Eventually some of my team mates were able to find a garage where we could train. That grew into a new location, and into a new BJJ school. Although we still had challenges keeping instructors at the new location, we made do with who we were, and what we knew until we finally had someone to stay and teach for 6-7 years.

What advice would you give to women who have a hard time in training?

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Don’t give up! Find one reason that will make the difference for you. If BJJ is your passion, you will find a way to prevail, and make it past even the toughest challenges. Don’t be afraid to say NO to the person who doesn’t get what rolling with technique means. In all my years of training, my biggest pet peeve is rolling with people who just have to win at all cost. They are not worth your time or energy. Don’t be afraid to be straight up about it either. They are going to realize it some day on their own so you might as well be the first one to let them know.

Black Belt Corner with Leticia Ribeiro

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

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lettyLeticia Ribeiro started her jiu-jitsu training in Brazil, at Gracie Tijuca academy, in 1994. She fell in love with the sport, trained 2-3 times a day, and received her blue belt in three months. Leticia holds nine world championship titles, seven in gi, and two in no-gi. She has been competing at the Worlds ever since the women’s divisions were introduced in 1998. She received her black belt from Royler Gracie, and Vinicius Aieta in 2000, after winning her first title in the black belt division. In 2008 she moved to California, and started leading Gracie Humaitá female team. In 2013 she opened her own academy, Gracie South Bay. Leticia is a third degree black belt, IBJJF Hall of Famer, and one of the busiest instructors teaching women’s jiu-jitsu seminars and camps all over the world.

Which belt level has been the most challenging for you?

White belt was the hardest for me. When you start training, you don’t even know how to move your body. Everything is new, even hip escape, and shrimping are difficult movements. When you get closer to the blue belt things become easier. You start to understand the game more, have better control of your body, and breathing. That’s when the fun really starts! I felt that after my first armbar. I thought: I love it, I want more!

Photo: Leka Vieira

Photo: Leka Vieira

Tournaments were tough back when I started training. There were only two divisions, and all belts together for women at the first Worlds in 1998. After a few years they separated blue belts, later on purple belts, and now we have all belts separate. I’ve seen the evolution of the women’s jiu-jitsu from the very beginning. I’m very happy with the progress. We have lots of good, technical fighters now. When I was a white belt, we did not have a lot of girls but I was lucky to have Leka Vieira to look up to. She was always two belts ahead of me, and had her female team. She has always been a huge inspiration for me.

What advice would you give to women who have a hard time in training? 

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My advice to all the women who train BJJ is to keep going! Be confident, and be patient with yourself in the learning process. The hard times will pass, and the armbars and chokes will come. It is great if you want to compete, but it is also okay if you don’t want to compete. Jiu-jitsu is for everyone, it will help you in different aspects of your life.

It takes away all the stress at work, kids, family, and everything else that can disturb your day or sleep. Many people say that they don’t go to train because they are too tired from work. To me it sounds like an excuse. No excuses! After work get your gi, and go to class. I can guarantee that you will feel much better after training. Enjoy being on the mat not just to train but to enjoy your team who is your new family because your jiu-jitsu academy should be your second home. Good luck and good training!

Black Belt Corner with Kris Shaw

01 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Kris-ShawOur Black Belt Corner series continues with Kris Shaw. She started training in 1997 in Texas but soon moved to Manhattan Beach, California, for work. In California Kris continued her training under Rigan Machado, and received her blue belt, and purple belt from him. In 2000, Leka Vieira came to Rigan Machado’s, and founded the legendary womens jiu-jitsu team. Despite not speaking any English, Leka built a very successful team, and the ladies won some major trophies. Kris was an active competitor at that time, and won several championships in Brazil, and the US. In 2004, Leka established her own academy, which was the first all female academy anywhere. Kris followed her instructor to the new academy, and received her black belt from Leka in May of 2005.

Currently she trains under Mauricio “Tinguinha” Mariano, and a few months ago was promoted to 2nd degree black belt. Kris is a mother of four young daughters, the owner of BJJ Legends Magazine, and on top of that teaches kids’ BJJ classes.

Which belt level has been the most challenging for you, and how did you overcome the challenges?

Black, black, black! Definitely black belt! My ortho is telling me that I have to quit training forever! I have a bad knee, and I need a knee replacement but I’m too young for the surgery, so it’s a catch 22. I feel my game slipping away. I want to feel the glory days, and run through everybody but now everybody runs through me. I have family commitments that I try to balance. The other weekend I was at a kid’s birthday party but I really wanted to check out Five Tournament. I don’t compete anymore, and I don’t own an academy. I’m getting older, and the white belts are getting younger.

You don’t really overcome getting older but I do make up for it by networking. I reached deep down, and figured out that the reason I still do jiu-jitsu is because of the people. We have a special, magic bond. Fight someone and you know that person. You can’t lie while you’re sparring. The pretenses are stripped away, and pretty much if you hang through a competition class, I like you!

What advice would you give to women who a have hard time in training?

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Is it your inner defeatist monologue? If you have an hour to get to class, and you’ve planned to go to all day, and that voice starts, you can’t go because if you leave now you will be late. You can’t go now because the couch is so comfortable. You can’t go now because the dog will miss you. Recognize it, turn it off, and go to class. Don’t argue with it, just turn it off! Everything else is out of your control, whether or not you get to class is within your control.

Self-doubt is horrible, and it affects us all. It still creeps up on me. Again, you have to recognize it to stop it. Here’s where a BJJ BFF (best friend) is the helpful. My BJJ BFF has gone through the same things I have, and vice versa. It’s funny because it’s like a script. I tell her, “My instructor didn’t even LOOK at me today!” And a week or a month later, she will tell me that her instructor doesn’t even know if she is alive. So if you can, get yourself a BJJ BFF.

Retail therapy. Buy some new gear. You have to go to class if you just dropped $180 on a new gi! Now counter that with some philanthropy. Give an old gi, give a new gi, go to a grapplethon, and roll for charity. Go to a women’s open mat and help a white belt.

I definitely don’t have all the answers but I hope you stay on the mats and reach your goals!

Black Belt Corner with Luciana ”Luka” Dias

28 Friday Feb 2014

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Luciana “Luka” Dias was born on December 4, 1962 and began her martial arts career in judo under Petrucio Monteiro while studying physical education. About two years later, in 1986, Luka met Wellington “Megaton” Dias who introduced her to BJJ at a summer camp in Rio de Janeiro.

She started training jiu-jitsu with the Machado brothers in Teresopolis City, and earned her blue belt under them in August 1988, and her purple belt in February 1998. Yes, it’s not a typo, it took Luka 10 years to go from blue to purple because of work, moving, and life general. After graduating from the university she moved to Florida in 1989. Luka and Megaton reconnected in the US in 1996, and Megaton became her mentor, coach, and husband.

Luka has been an active competitor in judo and BJJ for decades, her most recent tournament being the IBJJF European Championship in 2014. She is one of the highest ranked female black belts in the world, and a huge supporter of women’s jiu-jitsu.

What was the most challenging belt level for you?

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I would say purple and brown were definitely the most challenging belt levels for me. Purple belt was hard because I felt more advanced and, wanted to prove more to myself and my professors. It was the rank where I felt more power, and that my technique was solid. It was also most challenging time in my competition career. I had to compete against brown and black belts. We did not have enough women in the sport so the brackets were combined from purple to black.

The brown belt for me was more about focusing on getting my black belt. It was the time to refine and polish the techniques. I received my brown belt in 2001, and was finally awarded my black belt in 2003 by Royler Gracie and Megaton.

What advice would you give to women who are struggling?

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Ladies, we all have hard time in training but remember that you are strong, and you can do multiple tasks. Never stay away from the mats too long because the longer you are out, the harder it is to come back. Injuries are common in our sport, you have to get used to it. Treat your injuries well, and listen to your doctor!

Try to have a good quality workout, and follow a health- conscious diet. Each day is different, some are good, some are not so good but try to learn something from your professors and higher ranked teammates every day. Respect to earn respect!

Most importantly, be humble about your success, don’t try to be all that! Remember where you came from, and all the people who helped you along. Help the ones who are struggling. Your good qualities will appear with humbleness. Always be honest and true to yourself. Keep training hard! Love you all!!!

Fenomenal Woman Itzel Bazua

24 Sunday Nov 2013

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Women’s jiu-jitsu in Mexico is a very young sport. The highest ranked women are purple belts. One of the purple belts, Itzel Bazua, has big dreams. With limited resources but with lots of passion, she is taking the initiative to be the leader and bringing on the change. Everyone meet Itzel Bazua!

itzel1Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Mexico City. I am a neurolinguist and have a Psychopedagogy Degree. I am the Director of the Family Resiliency Project which guides children with disabilities, and their families towards an independent and joyful lifestyle. I have a very strong academic background, I teach at a university and I’m an international congress speaker and advisor. I have grown and matured both in my academic activities and BJJ simultaneously, and I find many common grounds in both fields, especially  now that I’m working a lot with cerebral palsy, and the awareness and control over the body.

Right now I’m in the transition period. I have decided to dedicate most of my time to BJJ. I am teaching all female and kids’ classes at my house. This project is called Promahos Jiujitsu, and I hope to turn it into something big and meaningful.

You are one of the highest ranked female BJJ practitioners in Mexico. How did you get started?

I’m the second highest ranked but the highest ranked that is actively competing. I used to be a contemporary dancer but back in 2003 my school closed, and I had to look for another activity. A high-school friend told me a little bit about BJJ, and I was very interested. He loaned me a gi, and invited me to train. Since then I have had ups and downs but my love for the sport has only grown. I train at Escola Mente e Corpo Jiu Jitsu in Mexico City. We are affiliated with Team Brasa, and my instructor is Tomas Salgado, a black belt under Felipe Costa.

How has your training been so far? What have been the biggest obstacles?

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When I started training I liked BJJ but I did not feel comfortable in my school. I was the youngest, the smallest, and the only female. I felt like a little girl who was going to work with her father. Nobody took me seriously or practiced any technique with me properly. Some guys even said, let’s roll but because you are a girl, I will use one arm or let’s roll so I can warm up.

So I stopped training, and did not believe that I could achieve anything. In 2005 I went back to train. The friend who had introduced me to BJJ was now teaching. I suffered a bad sciatic nerve injury, and had to take some time off again but in 2007 I managed to fully return to training. Around that time I also met a purple belt, Tomas Salgado, who has now become a black belt and is my instructor. I cannot stress how thankful I am to him because he believed in me even when I did not. He pushed me until I started believing in myself. He supports me on and off the mat. Without him I don’t think I would have ever gotten past the white belt.

What have been the most rewarding moments?

The most rewarding moment was when I got my purple belt from Felipe Costa because it meant a lot of hard training and overcoming obstacles. Meeting all the incredible people in the BJJ community is pretty amazing too. I have friends all over the world! I met my boyfriend, Evans Merkouris, at the Brazilian Black Belt Camp in Greece. Something very important about this sport is that it forces you to grow in many aspects, human and intellectual. I believe that I am the person I am today because of BJJ.

Are there any opportunities for women to compete in Mexico?

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There are more and more opportunities every year. I have been competing since 2008 as much as my budget has allowed. Sadly, in my category there are never more than four girls, and it is a mix of blue and purple belts. The problem in Mexico is that BJJ is not a priority in many people’s budget. For example, in order to get to the  Brazilian Black Belt Camp, I had five jobs and sold many of my possessions. Most girls have different priorities and don’t compete much.

You are organizing the women’s camp with Mackenzie Dern. Tell us more about how you came up with that and why Mackenzie?

The camp was an idea inspired by my friend Keitha Bannan, the very first female black belt in New Zealand. She does an amazing job promoting the sport, and advised me through her experience. This event has the sole objective of promoting the sport in the female community. I met Mackenzie in Greece in 2011, we became good friends, and kept in touch. I admire her for many reasons but mainly because she trains very hard, is very technical, and has true love for the sport. When I told her about this project, she supported me completely.

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Unfortunately we had to postpone the first camp due to Mackenzie’s injury. She requires some time off from training, and we are working on new dates for the camp for 2014. It will be even bigger than the one we were planning for this year. I’m excited and wish Mackenzie a fast recovery.

However, this month we had pleasant surprise visitors from Australia. Purple belt world champion Livia Gluchowska and her boyfriend, Lachlan Giles, who is a black belt, spent a few days in Mexico City sharing their knowledge with us.

Have you had a chance to attend any women only training camps or seminars?

Unfortunately I have not been able to attend all female events abroad because of the budget constraints. I would love to go to the Inspire All Female Open Mat, and to any other events where all affiliations and associations are welcome. Hopefully we can have something similar here in Mexico soon as more women are starting to take interest in jiu-jitsu.

Anything else you would like to say?

I would like to just encourage any girl that has enough rank to try teaching, and helping other girls along the way. It is very rewarding! Many girls do not believe that this sport is for them but training with other girls is safe and fun!

Thank you, Itzel!

 

Fenomenal Woman Venla Luukkonen

10 Thursday Oct 2013

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We are very pleased to introduce you to our next fenomenal woman, Venla Luukkonen, 2013 brown belt heavy weight world champion. Venla is one of the few ladies who gets excited if she has a chance to fight Gabi Garcia. She talks about her life, and training in Finland, and the challenges she faces as a heavy weight competitor. Everyone meet Venla!

IMG_3378bTell us about yourself.

I am 29 years old and currently reside in Jyväskylä, in Central Finland. I live together with my girlfriend Hanna who also trains BJJ, and we have three cats. I’m a brown belt in BJJ and I also train submission wrestling. I do approximately 50:50 gi and no-gi training depending on the upcoming competition. My academy is called Jyväskylän Fight Club, and at international tournaments we represent Hilti BJJ Jyväskylä.

I graduated as an elementary school teacher in 2010, and continued studying almost right away. Currently I’m working on my PhD in the education field. The dissertation should be at the end of 2014, so I still have about one year to go. Post-graduate studies have been a perfect combination with training and competing as I am quite free to plan my own schedule.

Do you have martial arts background? Did you do any other sports before BJJ?

When I was about 7 years old, I started dancing and continued with that throughout elementary and middle school. I did modern dance, jazz and also a bit flamenco. I also trained track and field, and played floorball in early teens. Sport was a hobby alongside theater and music, however music and playing saxophone was the most important to me.

When I moved to Jyväskylä in 2004 to study, I started doing capoeira. I really liked the combination of music, dancing and fighting. One of my fellow capoeiristas introduced me to BJJ, and we were a group of four going to the beginners’ class in 2008. I fell in love with grappling. In the beginning I tried to train both capoeira and grappling but when I started competing more and more, it became hard to focus on both. I still go to capoeira occasionally but BJJ and grappling are closest to my heart now.

You are one of the highest ranked women in Finland. What obstacles have you encountered on your BJJ journey?

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My journey has been quite smooth, if I can say so. I have not had any major injuries and the attitude towards women training at our academy is really encouraging. Even though we are a minority you can really see us affecting the gym atmosphere.

As a competitor, it is sometimes challenging that there are not many higher belts actively competing. I do not have enough variety in sparring partners before the tournaments.

Hanna and I work tightly together, coaching each other and other competitors. It would be nice to have some jiu-jitsu guru coaching us every now and then. Luckily Hanna is really good at analyzing the game, and working together has brought us quite a long way. We try to go to seminars, and visit other academies to develop our game, and of course compete a lot to see how it is working.

The competition opportunities are rare though. After you reach a certain level as a woman in Finland, it is almost a must to travel abroad to compete. The level of BJJ in Finland is really good but just not enough women at higher ranks yet. We have only two brown belts and about seven purple belts in the whole country.

IMG_3387bWhat do you like about competing? Which tournament is your favorite so far?

I have thought about this a lot because I am not a very competitive person. I really liked performing in concerts, and also playing the solo parts when I was actively playing saxophone. Somehow competing gives me the same feeling as performing in music. In tournaments I can also see how my jiu-jitsu is developing and find new things to work on.

The most memorable tournament thus far has been the World Pro in Abu Dhabi in 2012. It was the first time I got to compete with the black belts. I had Gabi Garcia in my division, and I really wanted to fight her because she is the best in heavy-weights. I was so thrilled but then lost in the semi-finals and did not get to go against Gabi. Later in the open weight class I was luckier, and after winning two fights I had a chance to fight her. I lost to a choke at about 3 minute mark but I was happy to compete against her.

Some academies prefer competitors over BJJ hobbyists. Do you think everyone must compete?

Even though I love competing, and I consider it the best way to see how one has developed, I think it is totally fine to just train. When we have new students coming in, we try to encourage them to compete at least once to see what they think about it. But if one wishes not to compete, it is fine as well. Most of the people at our academy are not active competitors. Sometimes it is a little bit frustrating when I’m trying to get ready for tournaments, otherwise I do not mind.

What has been the most difficult belt level (white, blue, purple or brown) and why?

I would say brown belt due to the rare competition options. Being a heavy weight girl makes it even harder. It is frustrating to check out the list of competitors and wait if I get any opponents. This happens in high level competitions. At the Mundials this year I was lucky to get two opponents who for some reason did not want to compete in their own weight classes. At Rome Open and No-gi Europeans there were only two girls in brown belt categories. Luckily Janni Larsson changed her category for heavy weight and we got to fight four times with each other.

I hardly ever get to fight more than one girl my size. The lack of heavy weight girls has affected my motivation but at the same time I know that the sport is still quite new here and in a few years hopefully there are more girls competing.

You and Hanna will be teaching a women’s jiu-jitsu seminar in December. Is that your first event or do you teach regularly?

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Actually Finnhits in November and our camp in December are the first seminars I will be teaching. I teach women only and co-ed classes regularly at our academy though.

We started with women only classes in 2009. We had a small group of seven girls but it grew after Hanna moved to Jyväskylä in 2010. She is a really talented instructor, and I have learned a lot from her. Now we have three female instructors. I think the secret for our success is that we do exactly what guys do: train, compete, teach and referee. It is still hard to find enough women to keep up with BJJ for more than a year – people move, have babies, change hobbies, but for now we have a core group training and competing.

The guys have always been really supportive, and actually girls are even taking over the academy now. We named our girls training Jyväskylän Fight Like a Girl Club. Most of our girls and guys sport a shirt or a black hoodie with our logo. We have also organized two women only amateur MMA events, which were very popular.

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you?

This has more to do with our cats than me! During the last few years some the instructors who have visited Jyväskylä have stayed at our place. It is very cute to see high level competitors, girls an guys, being entertained by the three princes of the house. For example, when Martin Aedma was visiting, he shared his yogurt with one of the cats. One spoonful for Martin, one for the cat 🙂 Two of the cats also love to grapple, so it never gets boring!

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Thank you, Venla!

June 2014: Check out BJJ Scandinavia interview with Venla, and see what has happened since she got promoted to black belt!

Fenomenal Woman Rana Qubbaj

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

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Our fenomenal woman series travels to the Middle East this month. Rana Qubbaj from Amman, Jordan was kind enough to talk to us about her life and women’s jiu-jitsu in her country. She is a blue belt, one of the highest ranked ladies in Jordan, and the first woman from an Arab country to win medals at IBJJF tournaments. Everyone meet Rana Qubbaj!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I’ve lived in Jordan all my life. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, and I work full-time at a local telecom company in the information security and business continuity department. When I am not working or training BJJ, I am usually working out. I like to go to the gym every day. I enjoy a good run, and do some rock climbing and hiking. Recently I started to work a little bit on photography, mainly to be able to take nice pictures at the tournaments. If there is any time left in the day, I try to read a good book.

How did you find BJJ?

I train at Source MMA in Amman, and I am a blue belt under four dan black belt Master Samy Aljamal. I have been training for about 3 years. Before that, jiu-jitsu never crossed my mind. I never imagined I could do any type of sport to be honest, let alone compete in a combat sport. Sport is not part of the culture here in Jordan, and I was no exception.

I was in the early twenties, very unfit, and overweight and that actually scared me. I went to visit some local gyms for about a year but didn’t find what I really liked. I kept looking until I stumbled upon a no contact kickboxing class that coach Samy was offering at our school. I joined the class and liked how it changed me. But still I wanted something more. That is when the coach introduced me to BJJ and it has been growing on me ever since.

Tell us about women’s BJJ in Jordan? How do men view women on the mat?

The BJJ scene has changed since I started. I began training with another girl from our kickboxing class. We were the only girls doing BJJ in the whole country at the time! It was a little awkward stepping onto the mat at the beginning. If I arrived early, I would wait for my friend so that I didn’t have to walk in alone. Two girls joined about 2 weeks later. Now we probably have 15 women training BJJ in Jordan. I’m very happy to see the numbers growing.

However, it still is not enough women and that is one of the problems we have to deal with here. There are no higher than blue belt ranked women to train with. I’m 5’9”, so I can be easily the tallest woman on the mat as well. Not a very good situation if you are preparing for a tournament.

578035_10152635169215587_267492993_nAs to how men view women on the mat, if we are talking about team mates, they are very supportive. We probably face the same issues as other girls do, who train at any gym in any other country. In the beginning however, guys had never trained with women, it was all new for them as well. Some were fine with it, some were against it. Some thought we would not last, some thought it was unacceptable for women to train, since the Middle East is still very conservative.

It is different than the rest of the world but I think this is always the case in the beginning. Anything new is viewed with resistance and suspicion. Now the number of women training has grown, and women have proven themselves on the mats. We are part of the team and part of the family just like the men. Outside the school, people are beginning to accept it more as well. Partly because more girls are engaging in martial arts and because you stop doubting yourself at a certain point.

You travelled to Brazil this summer to compete at Rio Open. How did you do? Are there any tournaments in Jordan?

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I love to compete but unfortunately we do not have girls’ tournaments in Jordan. Very few girls train, even fewer want to compete, and by the time we get divided between belts and weights, there is one girl in each bracket. I am trying to compete outside of Jordan as much as I can even though it’s not easy. I was lucky to make it to Rio Open in July and it was a bless.

Competing in Rio is different from competing anywhere else! It was a lot of fun, I got a silver medal. It was also a great experience to train at master Fabricio Martines’ academy which we are affiliated with. They had more black belts than other color belts on the mat! It was like jiu-jitsu heaven for me! Rio is so beautiful, lovely beaches, amazing scenery, and friendly people. I will try to go back there again as soon as I can.

Do you travel to any women’s BJJ camps or seminars in any other countries?

So far I have not been able to attend any camps or seminars. I would love to do it though. I would love to experience an all women open mat as well. It looks very tempting when I see all the ads online. My BJJ traveling is limited to competing at this time. I’ve been to European Open twice and to London Open once. I always carry a gi with me and train wherever I can, just to learn as much as possible.

What are the biggest challenges for you? Have you wanted to quit at some point?

I think my biggest challenge is not being able to compete enough. In a perfect world I would love to compete every other weekend. Not having local tournaments and having to travel far limits my ability to compete. I cannot always take time off from work and travel can be quite expensive. Also managing work and training is somewhat challenging. I have a demanding job from nine to six.

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In the beginning I considered quitting a few times actually, but these thoughts have not crossed my mind for a long time now. I know I want to train for the rest of my life, even after I receive my black belt.

My biggest motivation to train is the love of the sport. I look forward to it every single training session. I never train out of obligation or guilt. I want to be on the mat. Having mini targets to accomplish always helps as well. Trying to master a specific sweep or submission can be quite a motivator. Coaches help me a lot too, they do their best to keep the women coming back.

What does your family think of BJJ?

In Jordan, we live with our parents until we get married, so hiding my gis was not an easy task in the beginning. Thank God, I am over that stage now! They know that BJJ is an important part of my life and they accept it. My two sisters always thought it was cool. One of my sisters started training about a year after I had started and the other one started just a few weeks ago. My brother still does not think that it is a great idea but we agree to disagree 🙂

Anything else you would like to say?

I just want to thank my sponsors Arab Orient and Aramex, also my coach and my team at Source MMA, and everyone who support women in jiu-jitsu!

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 Thanks Rana!