Fenomenal Woman Venla Luukkonen

10 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

Tags

finnish brown belt, hilti bjj jyväskylä, Jyväskylä girls' bjj, venla luukkonen, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

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!

Tell 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?

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.

What 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?

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!

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

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

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Tags

rana qubajj, women's bjj, women's bjj jordan, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

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!

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.

As 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?

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.

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!

Thanks Rana!

Happy Birthday Girls in Gis!

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in News and Events

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girls in gis, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

Girls in Gis, Texas women’s BJJ group, is celebrating its four-year anniversary on September 22nd in Houston, at Elite MMA. The group has grown exponentially since it started in 2009, and over 100 participants are already registered for the upcoming event. It is a free open mat for women and girls of all ages and experience levels.

At the anniversary event, Girls in Gis is running a fundraiser for YMCA International Services benefiting the victims of human trafficking. Donations in cash and household items such as dishes, towels, small appliances, and baby items are greatly appreciated.

We are continuing our tradition of donating a gi to the Girls in Gis anniversary event’s raffle. This time around one of our beautiful pink pearl weave gis is up for grabs. Check out the past winners and good luck everyone this year!

2010 winner Camryn

2011 winner Tara

2012 winner Jamie

2013 raffle prize

To register for the Girls in Gis anniversary event, please click here. To read more about Girls in Gis, please visit their blog.

Designing a Gi

05 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in Business, Women's BJJ, Women's Gis

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

cornflower, eesti naine, estonia, estonian bjj girls, fenom kimonos, jiu-jitsu, kaheksakand, rukkilill, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

This is a story about the gi design process. This is also a story about an unusual relationship. Fenom Kimonos is a Dallas based company run by Triin, the designer who works for Fenom is Agnes. These two Estonians are childhood friends, one lives in Dallas, the other one in Pärnu, Estonia. A couple of years ago the ladies reconnected and a new professional relationship took off. Two friends living thousands of miles away and working on making classy women’s jiu-jitsu gear, how cool is that?

It all starts with a vague idea, and the most annoying request a designer can get: Make something pretty! Sometimes we know what we want to do, sometimes we know what we definitely do not want to do. This time it started with a desire to do a flower design that stays away from the widely used Asian and Hawaiian influence in BJJ designs. So instead of looking far, we looked at our beautiful Estonian cornflower (rukkilill) and decided to go with the nordic vibe.

The best way to showcase the national flower was to incorporate some folk patterns and our signature F. First it seemed like an impossible task. How can you mix a geometric shape with our curvy F and make it look like a cornflower?

Estonian folk patterns use a lot of geometric shapes and colors, each having a specific and mythological meaning. Even the tiniest islands and counties have their recognizable color scheme and preferred patterns. Mothers have taught their daughters for centuries how to knit, crochet and embroider these patterns, keeping the skills alive. We wanted to honor our mothers’ and grandmothers’ effort, and make something meaningful not just for us, but for all girls and women.

We decided to focus on the octagon (kaheksakand), also known as an eight-pointed star or cross, which is one the most significant and widely used shapes in our patterns. It represents dawn, and a new start, it brings good fortune and protects us, our souls, and our homes.

The designer went to the drawing board and came back with a few design concepts. Some were scrapped right away, couple of more tries and there was something that caught our eye. A few more tweaks and color changes, and three best ones emerged.

We were going back and forth, arguing if light blue or dark blue would look the best in real life on the gi. After we ~~finally~~ picked the two favorites, the design got sent to the factory in Pakistan for the test embroidery. Sometimes the design looks awesome on paper but not so good when embroidered. This time we were pleased with the test and didn’t change anything about the F. The embroidery looked beautiful and delicate, crisp and cool, just like we had hoped for.

More back and forth discussions, since there was no clear winner. Eventually we picked our favorite, drew up the full gi design, added a few more design elements and sent it to the production. Now the waiting started. A few weeks of nail-biting and the prototype was ready! But oh no, something unexpected happened. Contrast stitching…. this was not in the specs! Somehow the factory decided to do blue stitching. After a ~~complete~~ mild panick attack, the more we looked at it, the more we actually liked the contrast stitching. Some mistakes are not all that bad after all!

So there you have it. This is how the whole process works. It looks simple but it’s not easy. It takes between 3-6 months to bring out a new product. Delays are normal, some ideas never make it to the finish line and that is okay too. Over the years we have realized that this is part of the process, you just need to get used to it and not fight it.

Now we are anxiously waiting for the DHL truck to deliver the new gi shipment so we can take product shots, update the website, test the gi out on the mat, and see if it is going to be well received by the customers. We hope you like it. Thank you and stay Powered by She!

Fenomenal Woman Irena Preiss

03 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

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irena preiss, michelle nicolini, women's bjj, women's bjj poland, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

We are pleased to introduce you to our next fenomenal woman, Irena Preiss, a 26-year old brown belt from Krakow, Poland. She is a pedagogy student, follows vegetarian lifestyle, and loves art and cats. She is one of the few female referees in MMA and BJJ in Europe. Read more about what she has achieved so far, and what she wants to do next. Everyone meet Irena Preiss!

How long have you been training BJJ and where do you train now?

I started training in 2003 in my hometown Stargard under coach Tomasz Stasiak from Berserker’s Team. When I saw BJJ for the first time, I was shocked: two guys sweating and laying on top of each other! But then I saw someone tap to a choke, and I decided to try it. It was much different from what you see today. We did not have much knowledge but we loved training, and Tomasz was a super talented coach. After a while I moved to Szczecin and things started moving fast under Piotr Bagiński’s coaching. I won Polish Nationals in 2005, silver at ADCC European trials, and gold at the IBJJF Europeans in 2006 as a blue belt.

Unfortunately, in 2007, at the European Championship I suffered a serious back injury. I could not feel my legs for a few hours. I was forced to quit any kind of sports for two years.

I came back early in 2009 and had the honor of representing Poland at SportAccord Combat Games in Beijing in 2010 where I placed second. I had very successful 2010 and 2011: gold at FILA Europeans, gold at the 2011 Worlds, silver at IBJJF Europeans as a purple belt and qualified for World Pro in Abu Dhabi at Warsaw trials.

Since then I have had ups and downs, I’m recovering from an ACL injury and I focus more on refereeing. Now I live in Krakow, and train at Grappling Krakow under Maciej Szczudrawa.

Did you do another sport before jiu-jitsu and what does your family think of it?

I have always been a very active person. I ran, played basketball and volleyball but nothing as serious as jiu-jitsu. It was just for the pleasure of being active. My other great passion is sailing, probably because of my father who is one of the best sailors in Poland. Now I’m also starting to like CrossFit a lot.

This is actually funny, my parents didn’t know that I had started training. My mom was really scared and thought that BJJ was a hard combat sports and that I would get badly injured in training. I had to hide my training gear outside of the house. After a while she accepted my passion. Now my parents are my biggest fans, they even went to the European Championship with me.

What is your favorite tournament so far? Favorite submission?

The best tournament I competed at was SportAccord Combat Games in Bejing, in 2010. They had the whole show on the Olympic Arena and was very well-organized, it was 110% professionalism, truly outstanding! It was a pleasure to be invited to such a big event. I have never seen same level of organization and hosting again, not even IBJJF or Abu Dhabi World Pro. I did not have much experience back then, and I lacked a lot of confidence. Looking back I see the mistakes that cost me the gold medal.

Here in Poland I always compete against the same girls over and over. The good thing is that they are all very, very good. The bad thing is that sometimes at tournaments there is no-one in my category. I prepare for 3 months and then I have only one match with a much large opponent. I try to travel abroad to compete but it is expensive and depends on the sponsors.

My favorite submission is definitely the triangle. Since I started training, I’ve always tried to catch someone in a triangle. It’s for sure my strongest weapon!

Do you have a lot of female training partners? Do you have a female BJJ role model?

When I trained in Szczecin, I had the best Polish female competitors training with me, so I cannot complain about the lack of women on the mat. Sometimes I train with my good friend Marysia Malyjasiak. She is the best in Poland right now, a purple belt and a world champion. She is heavier than me but girls move differently and we always have good sparring sessions.

Like in tennis, women’s tennis and men’s tennis are two different sports. Same goes with BJJ, women move in a different way, different power. Of course the positions are the same (armbar, triangle, guard pass, etc) but it is still different.

If I have to choose one lady in women’s BJJ that I like to watch the most, I would have to say Michelle Nicolini. In my opinion, she has the best guard, nice leg locks, she can effortlessly move up and down in weight classes and still win gold medals. Luiza Monteiro has a nice style as well, beautiful tactical game, and a nice spider guard.

How did you get into refereeing? Is that something you want to do for a long time?

I consider refereeing as a duty. If you are a higher belt, refereeing is something of an obligation to your local BJJ community. I would like to believe that if some girls see me refereeing black belt finals match, they would think, if she can do it, I can also! Hopefully in the future we can see more women in the center of the mat. When guys see a woman referee, they hopefully start taking us more seriously. MMA is even harder, there are really just a few female referees, you can count them on one hand. I like it, even if it is hard. Exploring and learning new things is fun!

What are your plans for the rest of 2013 and next year?

Because of my injuries I cannot plan what will happen next year. I am trying to train and improve my game as much as I can day by day. My fiancée Maciej is helping me a lot. Even when I have a bad day, he keeps me motivated and drags me out of the bed straight to the gym :).

In October I will be in St. Petersburg, Russia, for SportAccord Combat Games but this time not as a competitor but as a referee. I will try to compete at the Polish Nationals in November and may-be sneak in some triangles!

I would like to organize open mats for girls only. The idea is to build a strong women’s BJJ community in Poland. Of course girls from other countries are welcome to join in! I will also try to find sponsors for 2014 IBJJF European Championship, and hopefully accomplish my ultimate goal – IBJJF World Championship in California.

Is there anyone special you would like to mention?

It would like to thank my sponsors DUEL Wear, MADDOG, and CrossFit Box Krakow. A big kiss to my fiancee Maciej “Sms” Kozak, my parents, and my sister Ewa. Special thanks to my coach Maciej Szczudrawa, Team Grappling Krakow, Berserker’s Team and Random Squad.

Greetings to girls all around the world who train BJJ! Girl power 🙂

Hannette Staack Returns to Dallas

20 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in News and Events

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fenom kimonos, hannette staack, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

Hannette Staack is coming back to Dallas, Texas, this weekend, on August 24th, for a three-hour women’s jiu-jitsu seminar! This is the second time Fenom Kimonos is offering a free seminar with a world-class athlete and instructor to its customers.

Fenom Kimonos is dedicated to offering affordable jiu-jitsu products to women and girls, promoting women’s jiu-jitsu by offering free or low-cost seminars to its customers, and supporting other non-profit initiatives that empower women. Come and catch up with old friends, meet new jiu-jitsu ladies, and spend some one-on-one time with a world champion!

To register for the seminar or private lessons, or to buy a limited edition Hannette Staack t-shirt click here. To see a video from last year’s event, click here. See you all on the mat and stay Powered by She!

Fenomenal Woman Tessa Simpson

02 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

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Tags

akatx, gracie humaita, leticia ribeiro, tessa simpson, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu, women's mma

Our fenomenal woman for August is Tessa Simpson, a 26-year old Gracie Humaitá brown belt who grew up in Guam, and now resides in Austin, Texas. She is the proof that if you work hard and are nice, amazing things will happen. She is definitely a champion on and off the mat. Everyone meet Tessa Simpson!

Tell us about yourself.

Well, I would summarize myself as a well-rounded, and goal-oriented person. I work full-time as a web developer, and I just opened a kickboxing academy with my fiancée in December. I teach private lessons, I am a photographer, a step-mom, and spend the rest of my time training.

I am very passionate about training, and I have the same drive for being an entrepreneur. Being a business owner has been such a rewarding experience. I also find that owning a business is a lot like jiu-jitsu. It’s a constant learning and challenge, and I’ve discovered that I am really happy when I am being challenged.

How did you get into BJJ and where do you train now?

Growing up I was really close to my older brother, and usually tagged along with him. He started training jiu-jitsu, and I asked if I could try it as well. I really enjoyed it and started training consistently. This was 9 1/2 years ago, but after about 6 months of training, I tore my ACL playing basketball, so I had to take about a year off before getting back on the mat.

Now I train at Gracie Humaitá Austin. I don’t get to go as often since starting up our own business, and it depends on what I’m training for at the time. I would like to go to BJJ 4-5 times a week. I do Muay Thai and boxing at my gym, as well as crossfit with Fortitude Fitness who shares our space. So in total, I train at least 5-6 days a week and squeeze most of it in back to back in the evenings.

Did you do any other sports before BJJ?

I really enjoyed playing sports growing up, and tried as many different sports as I could. I played basketball, volleyball, soccer, ran cross-country and 5K’s, and at the time I discovered jiu-jitsu, I was a competitive paddler in outrigger canoeing. I would go from paddling practice straight to BJJ. However, jiu-jitsu was the first martial art that I practiced.

You grew up Guam, how did you end up in Austin?

I lived in Guam until I was 17, then I moved out to Texas for college. My brother lives in Austin and I had visited a university here before my senior year of high-school. We learned that by making him my legal guardian, I would be able to pay in-state tuition without having to have lived here for a year or more like in any other state. I didn’t have too much of a choice of where to go knowing that, so I ended up in Texas. Fortunately, Austin is a great place 🙂

What are the biggest challenges for you? How do you manage to stay motivated to keep training?

The biggest challenge for me is not having enough time to train and the ability to travel to bigger tournaments to compete.

I don’t ever really think about quitting. I plan on training until I physically cannot train any more. I love jiu-jitsu for so many reasons, and even if I am not competing I would still train for fun. I keep myself motivated in training by setting either small or big goals, both short and long-term. Training for competition is one goal but it’s more about just getting better, and learning a little bit each time I train.

What is your favorite tournament so far? Favorite submission?

The Worlds has definitely been my favorite tournament so far. I’ve wanted to compete at that level for so long but it was always difficult to make the trip to California. Being at the Worlds, alongside the best in the world was very inspiring. It’s funny getting a little star struck seeing people whose game you admire and study on YouTube, let alone warming up right next to them. Ultimately, having a big goal like winning the Worlds was a great motivator to train as much, and as hard as I could. I learned so much training for it, so it was still a win even though I didn’t bring home a medal.

It’s hard to say what my favorite submission is. I like catching armbars from different positions. It was nice catching a toe-hold at the Worlds for the first time in competition.

Women’s jiu-jitsu scene has changed dramatically in the past 4-5 years. What do you think of all the women’s open mats and camps?

I think women only camps and seminars are a great way to open up opportunities for girls to learn, and seek knowledge outside of normal classes. You know you can go and get good technique, and hard training without the fear of getting hurt due to the size, and strength differences. It also opens up the opportunity for girls that may not want to compete to get to see where they stand among other women at the same level from other academies. It is an excellent way to help inspire those who just started training to stick with it. Texas is a great place for women’s jiu-jitsu, almost every month there is an open mat or a seminar with a world-class athlete.

I admire Leticia Ribeiro for everything she has given to the sport, being a multiple time world champion, and creating women’s bjj camps, giving us the chance to train with her and other world champions.

Tell us a little bit about your gym in Austin. What are your plans for the rest of 2013?

We are called Austin Kickboxing Academy – AKATX and are located in East Austin, less than 10 minutes from downtown. We have a huge 6000 square feet warehouse that sits on about an acre of property, so there is plenty of parking and room for outdoor training. We offer Muay Thai Kickboxing, boxing and kids MMA. We also share some space with a crossfit program called Fortitude Fitness. We’ve been open little over 7 months, and have already built a great team and really positive atmosphere for training. We have people of all levels, including families who train together, people who have never trained any sports or martial art before, and both amateur and professional fighters for competition.

At the end of June, four of our fighters competed in a local amateur MMA event called Belts of Honorious. Next we have fighters getting ready for MMA and boxing events in fall. I will be getting back in the cage in September as well. It has been four years since my last MMA fight, so I’m very excited to be back out there and test myself!

What are your plans as a black belt?

I have not put too much thought into it as I’m more focused on getting better and becoming more of an active competitor again. I expect to be doing the same thing which is training, working, and competing when I can. I would love to teach jiu-jitsu someday but I know the opportunity will come at the right time if it were meant to happen. For now, I am focused on the learning process, and helping others when I can, even if it is on a smaller scale or indirectly through being an example of someone who works hard to achieve their goals, not only in training but also in life general.

Sue Ausman and Tessa Simpson battling it out. These ladies have had many epic battles and are always fun to watch.

Thank you, Tessa!

BJJ+BFF PHOTO CONTEST

21 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in News and Events

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brazil 021, fenom kimonos, girl's bjj, girl's brazilian jiu jitsu, hannette staack, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

We were inspired by a recent photo of Hannette Staack and Suay Al-Aziz. Two good friends who found each other through BJJ, one lives in Chicago, the other in Florida, spending quality BJJ time together in Brazil at BRA-021 camp and supporting Fenom! How cool is that?

Do you have a friend or friends that you can’t wait to train with no matter how far they live? Do you have a friend who has matching bruises in the most odd places? Do you have a friend that comes over with a gallon of ice cream and box of tissues when you’ve had a bloody bad day on the mat? Do you have a friend who is just plain awesome?

If so, here’s a chance to win a free gi or a free private lesson for you and your BFF at Hannette Staack Women’s BJJ seminar in Dallas, on August 24th! Take a picture of the two of you wearing Fenom gear* and post it on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, or email it to info [at] fenomkimonos.com. A random winner will be picked on August 23rd. Be creative and good luck ladies!

*Fenom gear = at least one of the following: Fenom gi top, gi pants, belt, rash guard, t-shirt. Fenom logo must be recognizable and visible.

Fenomenal Woman Heejin Lee

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

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heejin lee, queen of jiu-jitsu, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

Our fenomenal woman series continues with Heejin Lee from Seoul, South Korea. She is the first and only female brown belt in South Korea. Heejin talks about her jiu-jitsu journey, her struggles and joys, and future plans. This is the first time we used an interpreter, and we hope nothing got lost in translation. Everyone meet Heejin Lee!

How did you get started in BJJ?

About 10 years ago I was training Hapkido but decided to quit for a little while. When I went back to the gym to train Hapkido again, I saw some people training jiu-jitsu. I met my instructor, master Suyong Lee, and asked a lot of questions. I wanted to find out more about jiu-jitsu, and try it out. This is pretty much how I got started in BJJ. Now I train 5-6 days a week, 2 hours a day. I usually do 30 minutes warm-up, 30 minutes of drilling, 30 min sparring. After that I do some more drilling or sparring.

There are not a lot of women in South Korea training BJJ? How did you manage to stay on track and not quit?

When I first saw jiu-jitsu, I just knew that I wanted to do it, and I was going to do it for the rest of my life. It was the feeling that I had when I saw it. Of course, it was really hard as the only woman training with big guys. When I was a white and blue belt, a lot of the guys were ignoring me, or trying to beat me up. But that really helped me to improve my defense, and escapes. During the last 10 years, I was off the mats for only 2-3 months because of a car accident. I have never wanted to quit 🙂

Do you compete? Do you teach?

While I was working full-time as a therapist, I would teach sometimes. Now, as I’m opening my own gym (Queen of Jiu-Jitsu), I’m going to work full-time as an instructor. I have not been able to compete a lot in Korea. There are no competitors in my category. Also, since I usually roll with lower belts, my moves are more focused on teaching, and not competing. That is the problem I have. My plan is to become an active competitor next year, when my gym is stable and running smoothly.

What are the biggest challenges for you?

As I mentioned previously, training jiu-jitsu as the only and first woman has had lots of obstacles. So many guys tried to beat me up using their strength. They even tried to slam me in sparring, especially in the beginning. These days, the biggest problem is that I don’t have any female training partners that can help me get ready for the tournaments. However, regardless of the problems I had, jiu-jitsu is a big joy of my life. I’ve always enjoyed learning and sparring, and I’m still growing!

You are the first female brown (and soon to be black belt) belt in Korea. How significant is that for you and what would you tell other ladies who are hesitant to start or continue training?

I’ve never thought of it as something special to be the first female brown belt in Korea. In the beginning, I already knew that it was my destiny to become the pioneer of women’s BJJ in Korea. As the very first woman jiu-jitsu instructor, I think I have to show that in jiu-jitsu smaller people and women can fight with bigger guys. I want people to have the courage to train jiu-jitsu by watching me.

For women who hesitate to start jiu-jitsu, I would tell them to try it! If you want to learn to protect yourself, you’d better train jiu-jitsu since it gives you the experience of the real-life situations. I don’t think solitary training can help you to improve your self-defense. Some women don’t like it because of the physical contact. I understand how they think, but once you start you don’t have any room to think about it. Try it, and you’ll realize how much fun it is.

What are your plans as a black belt?

I am opening my own gym, Queen of Jiu-Jitsu. BJJ in Korea, especially women’s jiu-jitsu is not popular. As the first female instructor, I strongly believe I can be a part of spreading and growing women’s BJJ. It’s nothing different if I become a black belt. I’ll keep working on growing women’s jiu-jitsu and changing the prejudiced views. In the United States, Europe, and Brazil there are a lot of classes, camps, and seminars for women. My dream is to make something like that in Korea. I also want to make my gym a must-visit-gym for female BJJ practitioners when they visit Seoul. Come visit my gym!

Thank you Heejin for your time, thank you Julia Johansen for the lead, and thank you Inseung Hwang for helping out with the translation!

Women’s Grappling Camp in Chicago

13 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by fenomkimonos in News and Events

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brazil 021, emily kwok, hannette staack, valerie worthington, women's bjj, women's grappling camp

Women’s Grappling Camp is headed to Chicago in a few weeks! For the first time, Hannette Staack and Andre Terencio, are hosting the five-day women’s jiu-jitsu camp at their gym, Brazil-021.

WGC has been around since 2009, helping women to become the best jiu-jitsu practitioners they can be. It’s a place to train with many different training partners, exchange ideas, share techniques, and life experiences. It is more than just a jiu-jitsu camp, it is an opportunity to gain tools to improve all areas of your life.