The sisterhood. The brotherhood. Our mat family. Any way you put it, jiu jitsu is all about community. Sure, we talk about armbars and triangles and that sick takedown that our professor taught us last week. But when you ask your average jiu jitsu athlete what keeps her coming […]
I sit resting in my favorite recliner with my foot up and a knee bandaged and covered in ice packs. I had knee surgery today because of an injury I acquired while practicing take downs for my first competition. My husband diligently helps me with the rotating of ice packs […]
As soon as I got off my call with Mary Aldana, the only thing I wanted to do was put on my gi and get on the mat. If it had not been 6:00 am, I just might have! Mary’s enthusiasm about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and her resilient spirit echoed in […]
“You’re off to class again? How often do you have to go? Why don’t you try something safer?” an anxiety-prone mother asked her 30-year-old adult daughter. Do you have friends, family, coworkers, or loved ones who simply do not understand? They have never walked in your footsteps, or rather, pulled […]
Remember a few months ago when you were complaining about that dude at the gym who kept smashing you? How many of us are now thinking, wow, I wish I had appreciated super smashy dudes while I still had the ability to go to class. I wish I had relished […]
Its Monday. I am in the midst of a late afternoon slump. I am tired, unmotivated and not looking forward to going to the gym. My gym in almost an hour drive each way. There was not definitely NOT enough weekend to my weekend. I am constantly on the go […]
I had been training for a solid 8 months, an average of 3 times a week. I trained through going to college 1 ½ hours away, through classwork and writing, through raising a son and tending to my husband. Usually the mats were a release for me, but at this […]
On March 22nd, 2019, Sandi Duquette and Susan Gordon faced off in a monumental match. They were at the IBJJF Pans at UC-Irvine, and faced off in a Women’s Master 7 blue belt bout. Sandi and Susan began the match sizing each other up, each trying to take the other […]
Approximately 20 years ago, I went after my now husband when we were undergraduates. My first impression of him was that he was cute and sweet. He was generally clueless to my crush on him, but after persisting, he came around. We have been together since then, and have been […]
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 […]