Yvonne Morken
Yvonne Morken is a Jiu Jitsu Instructor and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. She began her martial arts journey as a child, training in Judo and Japanese Jujitsu. In 2012, at the age of 45, inspired by her daughters’ dedication to Japanese Jujitsu, she decided to return to the mats herself. In 2014, she attended her first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) class and fell in love with the art. Since then, BJJ has become a transformative part of her life, and she is now a black belt and an active member of Arizona’s vibrant Jiu Jitsu community. Training alongside her three daughters has been one of Yvonne’s greatest joys. BJJ is a family passion that has brought them closer and empowered them all. Through Jiu Jitsu. Yvonne has gained resilience and confidence that have shaped her approach to both work and life. As a teacher. Yvonne began coaching women’s classes at blue belt and now leads adult coed and women’s classes as a black belt. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes positional flows to strengthen fundamentals, creativity, and adaptation to individual needs. She aims to inspire her students to grow, regardless of where they start.
Yvonne is passionate about building a welcoming, inclusive BJJ environment and is proud to be part of Girls in Gis, fostering friendships and empowerment among women in the sport. Advice to Women Starting BJJ: “Jiu Jitsu will challenge you in ways you never expect, but those challenges are what make it so rewarding. Keep showing up, embrace the process, and trust that every step forward is a victory.” Achievements and Affiliations: • Competitor and medalist at Master Worlds (all belt levels) • Blue Belt Master World Champion • Competitor at Pan Ams • Affiliations: Undisputed, Girls in Gis, BJJ Globetrotter, David Reilly Competition Team Specialties: • Brazilian Jiu Jitsu • Matsuno Ryu Goshinjitsu
Seta Reupenny
Seta Reupenny was born on the Island of Tonga and raised in the Bay Area, California. She currently residing in Chandler, Arizona. She has been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for seven and a half years at Gracie Arizona, Phoenix and has been a women’s instructor for the past four years. Seta is a wife and mother of six children (four girls & two boys) and her whole family trains together.
Her family’s journey in jiu jitsu began back in 2005 when they enrolled their oldest son with Gracie Arizona. One by one our children hopped on the bandwagon, and shortly afterwards followed Seta’s husband and then Seta.
According to Seta, Jiu Jitsu has taught her so many things about herself. She says It has definitely enhanced her life physically, emotionally and mentally. She is a big advocate of self defense. It’s one of the reasons why she says she loves jiu jitsu for her family, especially her girls.
“I love seeing women/girls train in this art because it’s such an empowerment! I think it’s important that women always support one another and I honestly have to say that Arizona has the most amazing women in jiu jitsu I have ever seen. The numbers Arizona has pulled in the Girls in Gis events speak volumes to the friendships, respect and comrade we have among each other, regardless of the fact that we come from different schools/teams. It’s not about us as individuals but us as a team and that’s what I love about Girls in Gis. I am very honored to be a part of this team.”
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Lisa Pages
Lisa has been training Jiu-Jitsu in Arizona since early 2008 at Jay Pages Jiu-Jitsu and has earned the rank of black belt. She describes her Jiu-Jitsu journey as a very challenging and amazing. Lisa says it wasn’t easy for her being a female, the smallest in the gym, and starting BJJ in her 30’s. She had a lot of obstacles to work through and she says she would be crazy to say she has worked through them all. She still has so much more to learn and so much more to grow.
She says she doesn’t have an impressive list of titles and gold medals (but has a few) because she is not the best competitor, but if she could list the amount of tournaments she has mustered up the courage to do in the past eleven years it would be very long. She is very proud of herself and what she has done and what she has accomplished at her age and the best part is that she’s still not done.
None of it would have been possible without the support of her family. Lisa and her husband, black Belt Jay Pages own a gym (Jay Pages Jiu-Jitsu) in Chandler Az. Lisa describes her husband is my biggest rock. Without him she doesn’t think she would have made it to where she is today and she is pretty sure she has returned that favor to him. They support each other in everything we do. They have a beautiful amazing daughter who graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors degree in business Entrepreneurship and a minor in film and media production, she is their whole world. They also have two amazing dogs. Lisa works at the family Air Conditioning business with her dad as her full time job.
Lisa describes her life as crazy busy, but she loves every minute of it.
“If I have any advice for women starting BJJ is to never give up, you will want to at times but it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done for myself.”