Work out tips for busy moms

15 Tuesday Feb 2011

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Last month’s Fenomenal Woman winner Kristine Felts did such a great job of responding to our interview questions we asked her to be a guest writer on our blog. In this post, Kristine shares some helpful tips on how to supplement your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in a way that would make Martha Stewart proud. 

Take it away Kristine…!

I do some funny things to help work out since I can’t train as much as I want, (my spouse would get seriously cranky if I stole his mat time.) Since I am a stay at home mom here are some of the little things I do to help out on the mat.

WORKING OUT WITH A TODDLER:

Shooting with Toddlers (It doesn’t involve any guns though)

What you need:

  • a toddler under 35lbs
  • an area where you can take at least 8 big steps in a straight line without running into anything

I let the toddler sit on my shoulders like I would do at a pool for water wrestling. Now with my toddler secured to my shoulders I am going to start the basic shooting drill. Get down on my knees, bring up my strongest leg to start with. My strong leg’s foot should be flat on the ground and I am in a kneeling position.  I take that strong leg and move it forward about an inch or two (as you get better at this drill you can extend your reach even farther)

Now I am going to move forward, keeping my hands up and holding onto my child’s legs. This will not be a slow motion movement, but it doesn’t have to be super fast to start. If you are losing your balance in the middle of doing this sequence you are either going too slow or the child on your neck has decided to bail out on you.Using my back base leg and foot, I am going push from the floor and with  my stretched out strong leg pull my weight forward.  Strong leg’s knee is going to go forward without moving the foot til the knee touches the ground in front of you. You will be dragging the other leg behind you, please be careful. If you are lazy and literally drag your foot across the carpet, you will get carpet burn. Your foot should be above the carpet or mat by a few centimeters. Your hips should be above your knee and the other leg is going to take the kneeling position of your strong leg had at the beginning. Now I repeat the above steps but with the other leg in front. Don’t switch legs or interrupt the sequence.

Repeat this sequence until you reach the other side of your area. Some of you may ask, “Why am I doing this with a toddler on my shoulder’s?” Well for one thing it will keep your back straight. This will build core muscles and help you keep your balance, (nothing beats a 30lbs wiggle worm.) Now when you go to class and do shooting drills, it will seem like a cake walk. I would do this drill up and down about three times.

Toddler Kettle Bells

What you need:

  • a toddler under 35lbs
  • a jiu-jitsu belt for an adult or a child

I like to tie my belt around my daughter in a normal fashion (MAKE SURE IT’S SECURE!!!). Then I proceed with the toddler kettle-bell routine. I grab the belt right next to the knot, also making sure I have a hold of the loose ends, and pick her up to my chest. A hand is on each side of the belt. I do about 10 of these and then move onto the next movement.

I spread my legs and have her lay down underneath me flat on her back. Her head is on the same side as mine, (facing forward) and I swing/lift her over my head. Set her down gently and repeat 10 times. Make sure you check ceiling clearance; you don’t want to hit the toddler’s head on the ceiling or on a ceiling fan. Good luck explaining that one to the folks at the ER. I like to do this 4 sets of ten; so that’s about 40 in all.

I do a few other things but trying to explain them would be crazy so I say just get creative. My toddler loves this and thinks it’s the funniest game in the world, but now that she is starting to break about 30lb I don’t think we will be able to keep it up, I’ll let you know.

Laundry Pull

What you need:

  • a child (any size will do, but the bigger the harder it gets)
  • a laundry basket
  • a long rope
  • an area like a hallway, something with a lot of length
  • 10 or 15 dumbbell or weight plate (for you strong ladies out there)

Attach the rope to the end of the laundry basket (attach to the end that is the longest length.) Tie knots in the rope every few feet to help you for when your going to pull. Make sure that the rope is not too thin, I prefer a rope that is ½ an inch thick or greater. Make sure your rope is long enough with the knots to run the entire length of the hallway like area. I like to make sure I can get at least 8-10 good pulls on each set. Put the laundry basket at one end of the hallway like area and place your toddler or dumbbells in the basket. Sit down at the other end of the hallway area with the other end of the rope. You can either place your feet straight out in front of you or do a wide v stretch

position, (I prefer the wide V position.) Now you’re going to pull the basket to you with the weight and/or toddler inside. Do this as fast as you can without turning over your child. Once the basket reaches you have the toddler get out and take the basket back or if your toddler is too young or your just doing weights, simply turn basket around and walk to the end of area and repeat. I do this at least 10 times. You can even increase your weight as you get better. If you have a toddler in the basket I prefer to use the plates and I take a large fluffy towel and place it over the metal plates to keep my toddler from getting injured.

WORKING OUT WITHOUT A TODDLER:

Wring out the Wash

What you need:

  • wet towels or gi’s
  • a bathtub or sink
  • hands

The first one helps your grip and it’s also very green. After I wash my towels I take them out of the washer before it hits the spin cycle and transfer them to the tub or shower, (whichever has the least amount of bath toys) and I hand wring them out. Start out only doing one or two, it can be brutal on your hands the first couple of weeks and you don’t want a tub full of wet towels that you can’t finish wringing out (try explaining that one to the spouse and see what their reaction is.) I can do a full load now and my grip is getting super strong.

Gi Pull-ups

What you need:

  • a gi or a towel
  • a pull-up bar (preferred one mounted into a ceiling or on a wall)

Just loop the towel or gi over the pull up bar and grab onto each sides as high as you can reach. No jumping please. Start lifting your self off the ground as high as you can. Do as many as you can for three sets. Each time you do this try to improve the number by at least by 1 on the first set. This will improve you arm muscles as well as your grip.

Wall Squats

What you need:

  • an exercise ball (any size will work)
  • a wall cleared of all decorations and furniture

Put your back to the wall looking out to the rest of the room. Now place the ball between your lower back and the wall. Lean into the ball about 10% of your weight. I want just enough pressure to keep the ball in full contact with your body but not a lot to where if the ball were to suddenly disappear you would fall. Place your feet shoulder width apart. Knees are going to bend out not into the middle. You are going to squat down till you are in a position to sit perfectly in a chair, no lower and no higher. Hold this position for 5 sec and repeat till you get to 10. I like to do this for 4 sets, so you get a total of squats.

If you want to up the ante, because this is just way too easy for you try doing it on one leg. Make sure you are perfectly balanced over your one foot/leg. You may also need to increase the amount of pressure you are placing on the ball; but no more then 20%, (because then you are just cheating ><.)

Disclaimer: Kristine and Fenom Kimonos will not responsible for any injuries resulting from Toddler workouts being performed with pre-teens or husbands. Please be careful 🙂

If you would like to share some Women’s BJJ training tips leave us a comment and we’ll be in touch.

Fenomenal Woman: Cheri Muraski Grapples On

07 Monday Feb 2011

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As we go through our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, it’s so easy to care about things that just don’t matter. We get so caught up in the “sport” aspect of BJJ and forget about the spiritual side of the martial art. We forget to appreciate the internal struggle we face as we experience victory and defeat, and the deep relationships forged as a result of this common ground. These relationships in turn make dealing with life’s hardships a little less painful.

Cheri Muraski of Fort Collins, Colorado reminds us of exactly what is important and she inspires us beyond measure. When we received the nomination email from Cheri’s friend and training partner Rossie Shaffer, we couldn’t wait to share her inspiring story with everyone.

World meet Cheri.

Fenom: Hi Cheri! Tell us about yourself and your BJJ training life. How did you get started? How long have you been training? Where do you train?

Hi my name is Cheri. I’m 31 years old and I train at Mcmahon BJJ in Fort Collins, Colorado and hold the rank of blue-belt. My two sons Ryan and Christian train BJJ. My 9-year old son Ryan started when he was six. My husband started after him, I started after my husband, followed by Christian. I actually was not thinking of training but shortly after Kevin started he came home and said “let me show you this arm bar I just learned” He tackled me and armbared me. (My husband and I have always been competitive with one another) when he armbared me I was unable to get out. Shortly after that happened I signed up. We have been training ever since.

Fenom: How do you balance your regular family life with BJJ? What are some of the challenges and rewards?

We have always been lucky enough to train as a family. The kids classes are scheduled right before the adult class so we are able to just stay there. Kevin had been self-employed and I have been lucky enough to configure my work schedule around class. We were training about 4-5 times a week. Three months ago Kevin passed away suddenly.  After he passed I thought I would never be able to return to BJJ. This was something we always did together. I have always felt close to our school but now I consider everyone there family. I can’t even begin to tell you the love and support our family has received. I now train 6 days a week and double up my training 2 out of those 6 days. BJJ is the only thing that helps right now emotionally and physically. My coaches and training partners at Mcmahon BJJ and our sister school Easton BJJ mean the world to me.

Fenom: Do you think all women should compete? Please explain your answer.

I am just starting to get in the competition scene. I have competed three times to date. The most recent event was the Fight to Win tournament in Denver, Colorado where I took first place in Gi and third place in No Gi! I am also planning to compete in Pan Ams this spring. My advise to other women is to train when ever you can and just have fun. I think all women should at least  try it once. Step onto the mat without the pressure of winning or loosing. If you win awesome, if you loose you’ll at least know you had the guts to give it a shot.

Fenom: Can you share some of your short and long term goals for your personal BJJ journey and your family?

My long term goal has always been to get my black belt. However without Kevin here I am just trying to make it through the next minute so I can’t really say.

Fenom: If you could name the one thing you love most about training BJJ, what would that be?

Without a doubt, the people. It doesn’t matter if I walk into our school or one of our sister schools, I always feel welcome. The growing women’s BJJ community in our area gives me a whole new way to enjoy the people. We just started a women’s only class on Sundays at Easton BJJ and it is awesome! A special thanks to my coaches Tessa and Finnie McMahon, and Alistair Macdonald for encouraging me to be better.

Fenom: Cheri, thank you for letting us share your story with our readers. You are an inspiration to us all and we’ll be on the look out for you as you rise through the ranks! See you at black belt!

In memory of Kevin Muraski.

Kevin Muraski

 

Fenomenal Woman: This is how Kristine rolls

04 Tuesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Fenomenal Women

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It’s amazing how you can go through your every day life and not realize the impact certain people in your immediate circle of family, friends and co-workers have in the universe. You would think that with the physical closeness experienced when training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, making close friends would be easy as 1-2-3. Interestingly, even with the close contact we have with our training partners and classmates, it still takes time for less outgoing people to break out of their shy shells to socialize let alone develop close relationships.

What does make this process a lot easier is the result of the genuine people we share mat space with everyday. We all have a handful of these people in our gyms — they go the  extra mile to make new  or lower ranked students feel like sticking around after being smashed by the rest of the gang, and convert surface level training relationships into life-long friendships. Kristine Felts of Fort Worth, Texas is one of those genuine people. Based on feedback from her peers, we’re excited to introduce this month’s Fenomenal Woman — World meet Kristine Felts!

We spent some time with Kristine and her husband Gary this week and did some digging to learn more about this woman.

Fenom: Hi Kristine! Tell us about yourself and your BJJ training life. How did you get started? How long have you been training? Where do you train?

Kristine: I have done martial arts all my life, but what got me into this sport was my spouse. We just got married and had moved to Waco where my husband went to Baylor for grad school. There were not any martial arts schools around that we could afford so we were working out on our own. Then one day he comes up to me and says, hey I want you to come try out this club activity I have been doing, they need an assistant advisor and I think the stuff they are doing is really cool.

I didn’t fall in love with it immediately. In fact it was closer to 6 months before I could appreciate it. I was still training other striking disciplines when my husband asked over one of my coaches/training partners. He had us put on MMA gloves and had me start out in my guard. He then told my training partner that he was to try and hit me 3 times on the head, (lightly hit me in the head) and my job was to keep him off of me and not to get hit. We did this for 10 minutes and he never landed a blow. That’s when the lightning struck for me and I was hooked.

I now train at Peak Performance under Paul Halme in Fort Worth, Texas and currently hold the rank of purple-belt. We have a lot of awesome guys here in DFW. I also get to train at Travis Lutter’s academy in Fort Worth and also at Octagon MMA in Dallas Under Bruno Bastos. It’s amazing the kind of talent these guys bring in from all over the world.

Fenom: How do you balance your regular family life with BJJ? What are some of the challenges and rewards?

Kristine: It’s hard juggling the family with BJJ. Don’t forget the fact that I have to share with my husband Gary. He still does the sport with me. We don’t have any family that lives in the area that can help with Samantha so we have to split up training time. We get out the calendar and pick out our tournaments and then we work on the training schedule. We trade days as needed and make sure one of us is at class the majority of the week. I have to say that my spouse is a lot more consistent then I am. A lot of the time I try to supplement my training time on the mat during day hours with other moms or work at home women.

A lot of times I had to bring Samantha with me and usually that meant a short work out with the girls and then off to run after the baby. Luckily I have some great friends who are very understanding and help me out as much as they can. My friend Pilar, who is also a brand new blue belt at our school, baby-sits for me. Now that I have Samantha enrolled in a mothers day out program I now have two days a week that I can train at other schools that have day classes.

Fenom: Do you think all women should compete? Please explain your answer.

Kristine: Most definitely; I can’t stress enough on how important it is for a women to compete. At most gyms there are not a lot of women to roll with and the ones you can work with over time will figure out your game so I find tournaments a great way to test my game. I never get discouraged by a loss and I never get elated by a win. I look at each tournament as a chance to see what worked and what didn’t and move on. All the girls I have coached or talked to along the way I try to stress the importance of not putting to much stock in the outcome of a match.

This sport is tough enough on us women as it is, (most of my training partners out weigh me by 40lbs and up, sometimes I get tapped by a white belt by the most sorriest submissions; like a figure four arm lock, with them in My Guard! explain that?) so don’t create another obstacle that can beat you down.

The second great thing I love about tournaments is it gives me a chance to meet other women form different places. My last tournament I did in Japan I meet another competitor who is now a great friend and I can’t wait to see her and the rest of her gym again when they come to the states for Pan-Ams.

Fenom: Can you share some of your short and long term goals for your personal BJJ journey and your family?

Kristine: My short and long term goals are kind of the same. I want my brown belt. That being said I have no expectation of getting it in the next few years but I also don’t want to string it out for forever. I have joking told my Coach Paul that after I get it I’ll have my second baby. He has jokingly replied back that if that is the case then I shouldn’t expect it anytime soon because he just got me back.

Fenom: If you could name the one thing you love most about training BJJ, what would that be?

Kristine: I absolutely love it when I get the chance to train with other girls. When you start breaking into the double digits I get really pumped. I don’t need to take anyone’s head off, but I do get a ridiculous grin on my face that some have commented on as being scary. I started this sport when there weren’t a lot of women around and you only got to see each other at tournaments, so the atmosphere wasn’t always so nice. I love how much that has changed over the years. At the Women’s Jiu-Jitsu Championship tournament in 2010 the atmosphere was so completely different. It really felt like the women were there to try their best and cheer on everyone. It was definitely a build up environment, as opposed to, let’s just win it and go home.

I also love my little family at my gym. It’s nice to talk, exchange ideas, and help out your fellow man, or woman. Sometimes I get a few minutes after class just to hang out or go eat with the crew and it’s awesome. I call it my grown up time.

Fenom: How did you train when you got pregnant? How long time did you take off and was it difficult to get back into training? Any tips for other mothers?

Kristine: To be honest I got pregnant right after a failed attempt to Pan-Ams. I had registered and the payment had processed on my check but I wasn’t on any list to compete. I was told there was nothing they can do, so we decided to continue with the rest of our vacation to Barbados. After I we came back I took two weeks off from training and noticed that I missed a cycle so I took an at home test (like three times after the first one came up positive) then called the doctor and had a blood test done. As soon as it came back positive I called my coach and let him know I was going to be out for a year. I didn’t want to train pregnant at all. Even though my OBGYN said it was fine for a few months.

I have done other martial arts before and had a situation where a friend miscarried because of a freak accident. I would not want to put any of my training partners in the same situation. So I decided for myself that becoming a mom meant it was time to grow up and do the responsible thing and focus on the kid. I knew I would be back when the time was right. Luckily I have a wonderful husband that helps me with this. P.S. do not go back into training to quickly. I tried to jump back into the saddle a few months after having Samantha and ended up separating my Pelvis, (translation, a separated pelvis = 5 months of no BJJ to heal and then a lot of PT to fix the problem.) I didn’t feel like my old self for almost a year.

As always, we love to hear from the husbands…. here’s some kind words from Kristine’s husband Gary:

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Fenomenal Woman: This is How Yasmin Rolls

02 Thursday Dec 2010

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Unlike many activities we can participate in, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t allow you to be dishonest with yourself.  At home, work, school and other activities we participate in, much of the internal struggle comes from wanting to be the best we can be only to fall short, or even worse, not really trying at all and obtaining results we didn’t deserve. The practice of BJJ is the great equalizer because it is absolute – we must earn our way at every level of training with no short cuts, and there is no sympathy for wanting results without the willingness to work for it. There is something profound about this. We think it makes better daughters, mothers, co-workers, wives, girlfriends and maybe even mother-in-laws 🙂

Earlier this month we announced our “Fenomenal Women” promotion. The goal was to encourage women training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to edify and spotlight their peers, and to do something nice for these typically unsung heroes on the mat. The criteria we use to select one woman each month is simple – we review an email or emails submitted by our fans describing what makes their nominee special. Although competition performance was a plus, it wasn’t at the top of the list to us. Does she inspire? Does she build bridges between people? Does she have the humility of a martial artist and confidence of a champion? Based on feedback from her peers, we think Yasmin Soto does.

We’re proud to announce and spotlight our first Fenomenal Woman – world meet Yasmin Soto. We’re not exactly sure how Yasmin does it, but she does it well. A wife to BJJ brown-belt Ricardo Soto and mother of Marco, Mateo, Max and Maya (all train and compete by the way) Yasmin trains AND teaches a kids class while working a full-time job and managing a home. We caught up with Yasmin and asked her a few questions about her life as a BJJ femme.

Fenom: Hi Yasmin. Tell us about yourself and your BJJ training life. How did you get
started? How long have you been training? Where do you train?

Yasmin: I’m a wife and a mother of 4 and have been training for about 2 1/2 years. I’m also a blue-belt. I started BJJ after watching my 3 boys and husband train for years. I fell in love with BJJ after many years of just watching them every day in class. I train  3 to 4 times a week at Alvarez BJJ and drop in at Advantage Jiu Jitsu once or twice a week.

Fenom: How do you balance your regular family life with BJJ? What are some of the challenges and rewards?

Yasmin: Having a family that trains BJJ together makes it a little easier to balance regular life — we have a daily routine we go by. Challenges include not being able to do more national tournaments or seminars. It’s harder to just get up and go with a family and work. The greatest rewards is spending time with my family doing something we all truly love doing.

Fenom: You’re doing so well on the competition scene. Can you share some tips with other women on how to maximize results while managing a busy home life?

Yasmin: Always try to find time to train, even if it’s once or twice a week. Make the best out of every minute of your training. Most of all, don’t give up.

Fenom: Do you think all women should compete? Please explain your answer.

Yasmin: I never thought I was going to love to compete as much as I do now. When I started BJJ i wasnt even thinking about competing. After my first tournament I fell in love with the competition scene. I don’t necessarily think all women should compete but they should definitly try it once. It can be a positive experience.

Fenom: Can you share some of your short and long term goals for your personal
BJJ journey and your family?

Yasmin: For my short-term goals, I would love win my division at the Pan Ams and Worlds next year. My long term goals include getting my black-belt and being one of the first black-belt women to open up a school with my family. Not only do I love to train BJJ, I really enjoy teaching.

Fenom: If you could name the one thing you love most about training BJJ, what would that be?

Yasmin: I love how BJJ techniques just work. You know how we get these big guys that think a girl can never beat them. But when you’re done with them, they have no idea what just happened! 🙂

Fenom: Thanks again for sharing your story with us Yasmin. You’re an inspiration to many people — men and women. Would you like to thank any one?

Yasmin: You’re very welcome. Yes, I would like to thank my family, coaches and training partners for making my BJJ an enjoyable part of my life!

We also thought it would be cool to get some feedback from Yasmin’s husband. Ricardo Soto is a brown-belt and is also an active teacher and competitor.

Fenom: Hey Ricardo. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. Since we’re here to spotlight your wife, we’ll make sure to keep your list shorter… 🙂

Ricardo: I’m glad I can help. Yes, anything to make her shine!

Fenom: What is like having your wife train BJJ with you? Share some highlights and some challenges.

Ricardo: It’s great having her train BJJ with me! We’re always pushing each other to train. Seeing her and the kids getting ready for class always motivates me to get out there and train. Some highlights include competing at tournaments together — it’s an awesome feeling. We also learn from each other. We can try moves out on each other! The biggest challenge is deciding who get’s to compete and who sits out. Juggling martial arts training and other activities such as wrestling and school makes it important for us to schedule and take turns with our own training.

Fenom: What are some of the positive effects BJJ has had on your family life?

Ricardo: The respect we have for each other and the discipline we have as a family.

Fenom: Yasmin is doing so well in the BJJ scene. You must be very proud. Please share some of the things that make you most proud of your wife.

Ricardo: Hearing positive things about Yasmin from other people really makes me proud and it reminds me of how talented she is. Parents view Yasmin as a role model for their daughters too. I’m just very proud of her!

Thanks again to the Soto family for sharing their story. We hope you like your Fenom Lotus Gi Yasmin!

Open source Jiu-Jitsu

23 Tuesday Nov 2010

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In the software development community, the term “open source” refers to software that is available in source form for users to study, change, and improve. These programs are generally free of charge and require users to contribute their enhancements back to the development community, creating an organic, self-perpetuating knowledge base for all participants to benefit from.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a description of a good, recurring open mat event. Study, change, and improve — check. Organic, knowledge base, community — check. Everywhere around the world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students gather to share their knowledge with each other outside of the normal class setting.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Peak Performance and Travis Lutter host an open mat for women every Friday and Sunday. Led by by purple-belts Sue Ausmen and Kristine Felts, women gather to learn from each other and get a little “me-time” in. It’s especially a great time for newbies to get extra mentoring from more experienced women increasing the likelihood of long-term participation. Times are changing and the women’s Jiu-Jitsu community is growing. Check out some of the photos courtesy of Tara Arrington!

Group shot after training. Six purple belts!

Sue beating somebody up and feeling really good about it.

Kristine and Meshel about to lock horns… or trade recipes?

Kelmy and Ari discussing some very deep Jiu-Jitsu stuff.

Fenomenal Women

13 Saturday Nov 2010

Posted by in Fenomenal Women

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We all know at least one woman in our immediate circle of friends and training partners who brings a positive vibe to our lives. This woman keeps us looking forward to showing up to train as much as possible. Regardless of rank, competition history, or skill level, we believe these women should be applauded and appreciated for just being who they are. We’ve decided to do just that.

Every month Fenom Kimonos will profile a woman selected by her peers in an interview we’ll post on our blog, website and social media channels. We’ll highlight what makes this woman special and send her a free women’s BJJ gi for making our world a better place — on and off the mat. If you know a fenomenal woman, send an email to info@fenomkimonos.com with a short list of reasons why and we’ll take it from there. Here’s a few ideas on what we think makes her fenomenal:

  • she studies full-time and still makes time to train
  • she’s married with children and manages to get on the mat
  • she works full-time or part-time and trains consistently
  • she helps out with kids class
  • she helps out beginners and makes them feel welcome
  • she makes you feel better about yourself immediately after she kicks your butt.
  • she is a beginner and is a joy to teach.
  • Bonus idea: she’s an awesome cook 🙂

Powered by she!

Women’s Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2010

16 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by in News and Events

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Last Saturday was a beautiful day for women and girls in Jiu-Jitsu. The doors were scheduled to open at 9:30 am and at around 8:30 am a few early birds arrived to weigh in as we were setting up. We were nervous. Being our first event we were anxious about many things — Did we talk to enough schools? Did we reach out to enough people? Did we friend enough people on Facebook?

9:30 am rolls around and another small handful of competitors and spectators arrive. At this point, we’re really starting to worry. Please show up people! At 10:00 AM, the floodgates of Jiu-Jitsu heaven, opened up and the crowds started rolling in! We were pumped! 76 women and girls gathered at the Fieldhouse USA for a day of competition supported by over 100 family, friends and coaches cheering them on. In comparison to many tournaments out there, we had a very small showing. But what a sight to see — standing in first class facility with that many participants was absolutely amazing. There was also something different in the air that you don’t experience at other events. There was a sense of sisterhood, belonging and community. Teammates, mothers, daughters, sisters — all on the mat to make their mark on what we believed to be a monumental day.

Oh, and about the sense of sisterhood, belonging and community mentioned above? That all went away when it was time to roll! The little girls had fun as little girls always do, but let’s talk about the the women. It was like watching fight scenes from the Gladiator movie… these women meant business and they were fighting with pure intent to win. Here’s some highlights from a few of these nail-biter matches:

Purple belt featherweight finals – Ariadne Burkhart vs. Kristine Felts

Masters middleweight match – Deyanira Velasco vs. Shannon Newhouse

Blue belt light-feather finals – Paola Morales vs. Lana Hunter

No gi expert middle-heavy – Kelly Faszholz vs Yasmin Soto

Gi beginner – Gabby Keas vs. Sarah Niedrauer

Conclusion:

Overall we were very pleased with the turnout. We learned that nothing is easy as it seems and have gained a tremendous amount of respect for all the tournament promoters and organizers out there making it happen on a regular basis. We hope our participants had as much fun as we did, and we look forward to many more. Until then, stay powered by she!

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Shipping problems

07 Thursday Oct 2010

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The last several weeks have been pretty hectic around here. Along with all the activities related to the upcoming Women’s Jiu-Jitsu Championship, we’ve been struggling with getting our next shipment in. The last few orders were smooth – a new batch of Lotus Gis for women and the super-dooper-cutie-pie-in-your-eye Lotus Gis for girls all came in with no problems. On this batch of Fenom Classics, every thing that could go wrong did go wrong. Wrong shipping documents, misspelled product descriptions and customs agents acting like FBI agents. Not a very pleasant experience but part of the game. After weeks of frustration and panic, the Gis were released by Customs for shipment to Dallas today! Everything is as it should be. We have peace.  🙂

To all our customers who have been waiting for their Fenom Classic Gis to be shipped — we’re extremely grateful for your patience and plan to have all orders sent out by Friday. We hope that you’ll enjoy your new Fenom Gi along with the Free patch we’re including. We also hope this small token of our appreciation keeps you Powered By She!

As for the shipping problems – there’s only so much that can done. We just keep paddling and hope to make it to shore every time. Why do we refer to it as “shipping” if it’s delivered via airplane anyway? Food for thought…

Blues Clues

02 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by in Products

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We’re finally moving forward with the prototype phase on blue classic and lotus series Gis. Initially we weren’t too hot on the idea because blue just didn’t look right. Which would make sense if we were making the Gis for just us. An opportunity to remember some business 101 – we’re in it for the customer – not to amass a personal collection of stuff we think is cool. And so the journey begins on what we know will be a lengthy process of back-and-forth with the prototype until we get it right. We’re still on the fence in terms of what color combinations we should use for the logos  on blue canvas. We’ll have a better idea once we actually see the prototype. We’ll also share pictures of preliminary Gis with you so you can let us know what you think. We’re excited!

Until then… stay Powered by She.

Something cool is happening. Countdown to WJJC!

02 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by in News and Events

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Every now and then something cool happens. Cool could mean a good meal with some close friends, a promotion at work, OR your husband or boyfriend finally cleaning out the garage without you having to ask. Then there’s Jiu-Jitsu. Oh Jiu-Jitsu… In exactly one week from today, the Women’s Jiu-Jitsu Championship will be storming Frisco, TX for its first event and we’re pretty darn excited about it. After months of planning, pushing and pulling, Zebra Tournament Systems of Texas and Fenom Kimonos will be welcoming women and girls of all ages and experiences levels to the beautiful FieldhouseUSA for a day of healthy competition and good times. If you’re competing or coming down to support your friends and family, we look forward to seeing you and hope you have as much fun as we’ll be having – win or lose, let’s make it a memorable day!

For event details and to register visit www.wjjc.info.