It’s been a long cold winter, but this weekend things are getting warmed up at GIGCO-Denver!! Come start off the year with us as we host our first event in Colorado. GIGCO-Denver will be hosted at Colordo BJJ head quarters in Denver Colorado.
We have put together an all star team of hosts which includes some of the top ranking females on the Colorado BJJ team. Such females including brown belt Charlee, purple belts Rachel and Teri and blue belt Maria . We had a chance to catch up with our hosts before the event, get to know them and see what they had instore for our girls in gis in Colorado this weekend. You don’t want to miss this one!
How long have you been training BJJ?
Charlee: I started BJJ in 1999 and stopped to pursue training for Olympics in judo. Started training BJJ consistently again in 2008.
What aspect of BJJ were you most interested in ?
Charlee: I was most interested in the realistic self defense aspect of the martial art. I have been doing judo since I was 5 and realized there were a lot of rules that prevented the sport from evolving to a more realistic fight situation on the ground. Where judo lacked BRAZILIAN JiuJitsu picked up. Therefore I was intrigued to learn a new martial art that would be effective in any situation.
When did you start teaching and what do you love about it most?
Maria: I started assistant coaching in our youth program about 5 years ago and realized how much I enjoyed working with children and sharing my love of Jiu Jitsu. In 2014 I started a teacher training program with my Professor Dave Ruiz, who was taught by Royce and Helio Gracie. In August 2014, I started coaching our first women’s Jiu Jitsu class at the Denver academy. I love to see the smile on a student’s face when they understand and are successful with a technique.
When did you go to your first Girls in Gis event? What was your impression of that first event? How has it impacted you personally?
Rachel: My first GIG event was at colorado bjj stapleton. My first impression was that it was a warm and friendly environment in which I could gain many friendships and learn from others in a non-threatening way! It has shown me how many females practice bjj now!! It’s unbelievable how many women are out there learning this art/sport. I love that we are all on different paths and that as they cross we can learn and grow together. It’s wonderful to have a community of women who are not competing against each other, even if for only a Sunday afternoon.Absolutely I would recommend GIG, for all the above reasons.
We are excited to have you be our host instructor. What do you have planned for the girls?
Maria: A fun and exciting afternoon of camaraderie,learning excellent techniques,making new friends and re-connecting with familiar ones!
Join the fun this weekend!! More info and registration for participants: www.eventbrite.com/e/girls-in-gis-colorado-denver-tickets-15561795750