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BJJ For Women

~ Women's BJJ Blog: Interviews, Jiu- Jitsu Events and All Things Fenom

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Distant Klash and Fenom Kimonos Collaboration

22 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by fenomkimonos in Gis for Women and Girls, Women's BJJ

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Tags

bjj, champion, collaboration, cotton canvas, distant klash, DK, fenom kimonos, jiu-jitsu for women, pearl weave plus, women's gis, women's wrestling

Two women-owned apparel brands, Distant Klash and Fenom Kimonos, partnered up to bring you a limited edition women’s gi design for this holiday shopping season. Distant Klash was founded in 2016 by Kelly Kusumoto, a Bay area native, 2008 California HS Women’s Wrestling State Champion and an artist. We loved her wrestling inspired minimalist style designs so much that we approached her with the idea of designing a gi. Kelly was very happy to collaborate with us and the final product is outstanding.

The collaboration gi jacket is made of 550 gsm pearl weave plus fabric and has beautiful, blue and white embroidery on both sleeves, lapel, back and front. Pants are made of soft, brushed canvas and feature over-sized embroidery on the right thigh. The gi has blue contrast stitching, decorative tape inside the jacket and comes with a custom nylon drawstring cord. This is a limited edition gi: a perfect gift for someone special who loves neutral colors and cute, comic inspired design. We asked Distant Klash owner and creator Kelly Kusumoto to talk a little bit about her art, wrestling, and how her company came about. Read below and happy shopping!

Fenom Distant Klash Collaboration Gi
Fenom Distant Klash Collaboration Gi
Distant Klash Fenom Gi
Distant Klash Fenom Gi
Fenom DK Pearl Weave Plus Gi
Fenom DK Pearl Weave Plus Gi

Why wrestling? What attracted you to wrestling? Do you have any other athletes in your immediate family?

Growing up, my mom put me in a variety of sports such as tennis, soccer, basketball, gymnastics and swimming. But at the time I saw sports mainly as an activity and not so much as a passion. While I was in middle school I began training in a Japanese form of karate called Shorinji Kempo and quickly became excited by it. It was fun, but more importantly it felt like I could communicate with someone very directly without actually having to use words.

However, one issue that I had while doing Shorinji was finding sparring partners. Older members found me too forceful and kids my age would avoid me for the same reason. At the end of the year they would hold a ceremony where they gave awards and recognition to people who had improved and had done well throughout the year. As a little joke they gave a an award for “Most Aggressive Sparring”. I was super excited to be positively acknowledged for being strong. It was a very proud moment for me.

When I reached high school a friend who was on the wrestling team encouraged me to join. At first I wasn’t very receptive of the idea, but eventually I decided to do it. I saw it mostly as a way to expand upon the martial arts I knew at that time, like learning new words in a language.

My first practice was during the summer after freshman year and I found myself in a very new environment. There were a lot of things I had to adjust to. I was thrown into a world where I was pushing my conditioning and strength training to an extreme. I had to learn how to handle being in an environment where all my training partners were boys. Perhaps the most difficult part was just being around people who did not know me and did not want to wrestle a girl. I found myself feeling a bit isolated and lost. Despite those challenges I stayed focused on the training and I felt that this was the environment I could learn to thrive in. It gave me a chance to fully express my aggressive energy without any restrictions.

In terms of having athletes in the family, my dad’s side of the family practiced judo but I was never taught any. Instead, my dad loved to roughhouse with me as his way of interacting and playing with me. I feel that as a result of those play sessions I began to associate the idea of fun with activities that were very physical.

You became a state champion in California. How did you achieve it? What is life like for a wrestler?

As a student athlete my practices would go until early evening. I did not get home until 6 or 6:30. By the time I got home and washed up, there were only a few hours left to eat, do homework and prepare for the next day. Even simple things like staying awake during class was difficult because I was so exhausted from practice.

The greatest impact wrestling left on me was how to control my diet. Growing up I knew that junk food was bad, but I did not really care about my health. With wrestling I began to refrain from eating junk food. I quickly learned that it was not practical to eat before practice unless I was okay feeling sick and sluggish during practice. I just started to be more careful about what I ate and how frequently. Often times I struggled to eat enough calories because it felt like I was burning more than what I could actually consume.

On a weekly basis practice was after school for three hours, five days a week. Once the season got going there would be a tournament every Saturday. In my first few years of wrestling I was so bad that I would try to do extra drills at night. I was quite desperate to improve so I also practiced visualizing to try to perfect the moves I had learned.

I think what added to my desperation was being the only girl on the team. I wrestled with boys exclusively so I did not have a sense of how my skill level measured against girls. In my first year I went to a few tournaments at the JV level with boys and barely won any matches. I decided that during off season I would hit the gym to become physically stronger.

By junior and senior year I was beginning to feel more even with the boys and I was slowly gaining some confidence. During my senior year I decided to go to more girl tournament and after having wrestled with boys for so long I found myself doing very well in the girls’ division. I placed 1st in almost all of them.

At the girls’ state tournament I was very nervous and did not perform as well as I usually did. I could not pin anyone and was feeling really anxious. By the time I made it to the finals I was really getting nervous. I got caught in a head and arm throw and was very close to getting pinned. The realization that I might lose snapped me back into a better head space and I ended up winning the finals.

Do you still go to your old high school to coach kids?

I used to coach only at my high school but I have expanded my reach to go to any high school with female wrestlers. If they ask me to come and help, I will do anything I can to make time for them. I feel like I can relate to the struggles that these girls are going through because of my experience as a girl wrestler. I understand their frustrations and do my best to lead by example. I know that it is also very comforting for them because sometimes it is difficult to discuss gender specific issues with a male coach.

In college you decided to quit wrestling and focus on graphic design. What prompted that decision?

During my childhood I drew a lot and wanted to purse art in college. However, I was also excited about wrestling and wanted to see how far I could take it. I finally landed on the decision to go wrestle on a woman’s team at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky and pursue an Arts degree there.

However, within a few months I was starting to feel very unsatisfied with both the wrestling and the art program. The wrestling program had a lot of problems but simply put, I did not like the coaching. I did not feel challenged and was starting to get very homesick. To make matters worse, the art program was also very weak. It felt like a high school program and I could see that this was not the right path for me.

I wanted to get out of Kentucky as soon as possible so I left after my first semester. I came back completely broken. I felt like I had disappointed a lot of people and did not know where to go next. I ended up going to a community college where my coach was teaching at. I was able to wrestle under him for one more season. Once again I was wrestling among all boys. Wrestling in college was even more difficult than high school but it was a great experience that washed away all the bad memories from the Cumberlands. I decided to let wrestling go and just focus on art. I got my associates degree and transferred to an art college in San Francisco.

Talk a little bit about your brand. How did you develop such a cool minimalist style? Where did the name come from?

During my time in school I learned how to design logos. Logo design is really different from traditional illustration in that everything is purely symbolic. The goal is to create a design that conveys a lot of information using as few lines and shapes as possible. I got the hang of this pretty quickly and really loved the impact and strength of a clean minimalist design.

I made the first DK design of the two boys in a wrestling stance several years after I graduated college. It actually took me a while to figure out how to draw it because it is very difficult to simplify human movements. As I was drawing it, I began to realize why there were so few wrestling designs that were available. It is really hard because it requires making a lot of design choices for the size and placement of each body part.

However once I was done I was very excited and so relieved. I felt like I was able to accurately depict who I was. All this time I had been going back and forth between my identity as an artist who likes cute things, and as a wrestler who loved to be tough. It almost felt like I was living a double life but now the two worlds could merge together

At this point in my life I had graduated college and I was no longer a part of any wrestling team. I still had a lot of nostalgia lingering from my wrestling days. I think many alumni wrestlers like myself struggle with a lack of identity when they no longer have the time or place to wrestle. The wrestler inside of us never really goes away, so the name Distant Klash was born as a reflection of what wrestling means to me now: a fight from the past, a “distant clash”.

I want it also to represent the younger generation who work hard and train for their next fight. I always feel honored when I am allowed to be a part of their journey to becoming the best wrestler they can be. For them, their wrestling career is still alive and strong and their future is a soon to be “distant clash”.

What are you plans for DK future?

Although DK currently focuses on martial arts, I would love to expand out to other sports. Wrestling is my favorite sport but I have a deep appreciation for all types of movement whether it be in dance, sports or any other physical endeavor. Movement is one of many ways people express themselves and I want to create art that allows people to see that.

Even personally speaking, the wrestling designs I made have allowed me to share my passion for wrestling in a way that overrides any preconceived ideas they may hold. When I tell them that I wrestle, I can tell them what it is really like and how it has positively impacted me. It may seem like a small change but I definitely feel much more confident when I can openly express who I am. I want to be able to extend this feeling to other athletes who may also be in the same predicament.

New Premium Pearl Weave Women’s BJJ Gi

15 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by fenomkimonos in Gis for Women and Girls, Women's BJJ

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

affordable, bjj, fenom kimonos, Gis for Women and Girls, pretty colors, support women's bjj, women's bjj

We are excited to give you sneak peek of the new premium cotton pearl weave women’s jiu-jitsu gi that is in production. Pre-production sample arrived this week and exceeded our expectation by a mile! Take a look at this gorgeous, detailed embroidery on the pants and gi jacket. We are also making royal blue version of the same design and both colors will be available at the end of November. As always mix and match, regular, tall and curvy sizes will be available. We are giving away this A2 sample to one lucky Fenom lady. Happy training!

fenom women's bjj gi
fenom womens bjj gi white
fenom womens bjj gi white yellow

Unicorn and Donuts Gi in White Pearl Weave Plus

25 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by fenomkimonos in Gis for Women and Girls, Women's BJJ

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

anniversary, bjj, cotton drill, donuts, gis for girls, gis for women, pearl weave plus, unicorn, women's bjj

We are excited to announce the release of our 10-year anniversary gi! Unicorns and donuts? YES! We have survived in a very masculine sport and industry for a decade making women’s gis exclusively and feel like a true unicorn. And who doesn’t like a good donut on their birthday? We hope you like the fun, colorful gi and celebrate with us. Jacket is made of 550 gr white pearl weave plus fabric and pants are made of traditional light weight cotton drill fabric. Gi comes in all regular, tall and curvy sizes from A0-A4 and also in kids sizes M00-M2. Adult sizes retail at a very affordable $115.00 and kids sizes are $80.00. Happy shopping!

fenom donut unicorn gi
fenom donut gi pearl
dav
fenom unicorn gi

http://www.fenomkimonos.com

Brag and Win February

01 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by fenomkimonos in Women's BJJ

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

bjj, fenom gi raffle, fenom kimonos, gi giveaway, gis for women, women's jiu-jitsu

It’s time for February gi giveaway! Tell us something good that you accomplished or something nice that someone else did for you last month for a chance to win a Fenom gi. Good luck!

*If you are a sponsored athlete or a brand ambassador for another gi company, you will not be eligible to participate in this giveaway.

Brag and Win

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by fenomkimonos in Women's BJJ

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

bjj, fenom kimonos, gi giveaway, gis for women, women's bjj

We are kicking off a new Brag and Win series. Every month one lucky lady will win a  Fenom gi of her choice. All you need to do is tell us something good you have done in the past month, no matter how big or small, or something good that happened to you. Let’s hear it!

*If you are a sponsored athlete or a brand ambassador for another gi company, you will not be eligible to participate in this giveaway.

Female BJJ Black Belts

23 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by fenomkimonos in Women's BJJ

≈ 51 Comments

Tags

bjj, BJJ black belt, female black belt, support women's bjj, white to black belt, women's bjj

We have started a project to map out female BJJ black belts in the U.S., state by state. This database is for the women’s jiu-jitsu community as a free resource for anyone who wants to find a gym with an active female black belt practicioner or an instructor.

So far we found about 160 ladies through friends, IBJJF rankings and social media. There are probably another 30-40 black belts whom we somehow missed.

If you can help us complete the project, we would greatly appreciate it. Check out the black belt list and if you see a name that is missing the year of promotion, instructor’s name or current location, and you can help us correct it, please do. If you know of a female black belt who is not mentioned, please comment and we can add her. Thank you and happy training!

Hemp Belt Giveaway!

28 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by fenomkimonos in Products, Women's BJJ

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Tags

belt envy, bjj, fenom kimonos, hemp, hemp belt, white to black belt, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

Some people say that belts and stripes are not important. Do you agree or disagree? We disagree. The wear and tear on your belt shows the hard work, hours on the mat and your dedication to jiu-jitsu. Stripes show your progress and that you are a step closer to your next goal. Why shouldn’t we be proud of it?

Let’s see the most worn out, unrecognizable color belts out there. Is your belt falling apart at the seams? Do people ask if you are a gray belt? Do you sometimes hope that no-one grabs your belt when rolling so that you don’t have to see the white filler slowly ooze out and hear the dreaded ripping sound? Has the belt served you well and is soon ready to be displayed in a shadow box to enjoy its retirement years? If so, send us a picture of your belt for a chance to win a brand new Fenom hemp belt.

charitybluebelt
belt_1
gbluebelt

Photos can be submitted on Facebook, Instagram or via email. Winners will receive a belt of their choice in any color and size. Five random winners will be picked on August 2. Good luck and happy training!

fenom hemp belt

Black Belt Corner with Leticia Ribeiro

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

bjj, brazilian jiu jitsu, girl's bjj, gracie humaita, leka vieira, leticia ribeiro, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

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? 

ARMBARS AND CHOKES_B

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!

Hello, Summer!

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by fenomkimonos in Products

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bjj, brazilian jiu jitsu, fenom flip flops, women's bjj

Summer is the season that you look forward to all year, gripe about when it arrives, and are sorry when it’s gone. – Anonymous

As the weather warms up, sweaters and boots are packed away into the far corners of the closets, and colorful shorts, tank tops, and flowy dresses come out to play. Flip-flops are the go-to footwear in summertime. You can never have too many pairs!

Make some memories this summer in pretty Fenom flip-flops. Get a pair for now and one for later, and enjoy the sunny season.

fenom-flip-flops

Black Belt Corner with Kris Shaw

01 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by fenomkimonos in Fenomenal Women

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bjj, bjj legends, female black belt, kris shaw, leka vieira, rigan machado, women's bjj, women's brazilian jiu jitsu

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?

A

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!

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