competition


Not Your Competition

  It all began with the new girl. She showed up a few months into my BJJ journey, slightly bigger than me and somehow already wearing a matching set of colorful rashguard and spats. I pictured myself patiently teaching her the one move I had learned, giggling at how awkward […]


The Power of Self Talk

  I was just halfway through the tournament from hell. Earlier that morning I was pumping myself up for victory, knowing this tournament would prepare me for my first super fight the following month. Yet, here I was, losing match after match in my division with my gas tank at […]


The Road Back to Competition

  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the “gentle art,” you say? Ask anyone who has trained for a bit and they probably have an injury story to tell you.  What happens after that injury? How do you get back in the saddle after getting sidelined? While I’m no expert, I’ve learned […]


Is Your Weight Cut Is Headed Into The Danger Zone? 1

Many competitive Jiujiteira view weight cutting as a necessary evil of the sport. I used to cut weight before every competition, even the local ones where there weren’t enough female competitors to create weight classes.  The first time I talked to my coach about cutting weight I thought, “Maybe you […]


5 ways you can support Women’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 3

The women’s movement in Jiu Jitsu has grown tremendously. We’ve gone from having “a women’s division” to having close to the same divisions as men when it comes to belt, weight and age. There are more and more women’s organizations offering open mats, seminars and camps. More and more academies […]


Knowing When To Hold on, Let Go or Move on

One thing you learn early on in training is holding onto a grip too long can end you up in a worse place than where you started.  We’ve all been there in the early days of competition.  We are convinced if we just hold onto that sleeve grip of our […]


You Can Have it All 1

  There is an unfair standard in most societies where women are forced to choose between having a career and raising a family. But who says we have to give up one for the other. Can’t we have it all? Karen Antunes is here to say you can have it […]


The Evolution of Female Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Competitors 3

It was only 32 years ago, in 1985, that women were allowed to compete for the first time at the Rio de Janeiro federation thanks to Yvone Duarte, the first ever female black belt. Later in 1998, women’s divisions were added to tournaments at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation, […]