Marina Drašković began training judo at the age of 9 years old in 1994. Her love for the sport and unwavering tenacity brought her mat side with national teams at an Olympic level of training. She traveled to countries like Japan to train and compete in the sport she […]
If you’re in the Miami-Dade area of Florida, you just may have already heard of Olivia Shand. Residing in South Florida, Olivia Shand is a mathematics professor, judo orange belt, BJJ black belt, competitor, IBJJF and NAGA referee, fitness enthusiast, and head of Jiu Jitsu Gypsies (a women’s BJJ […]
Recently, a teammate and I spoke about one of her first BJJ classes where she felt that she’d done something wrong, but didn’t know what. After hearing her story and then giving my take, her jaw dropped. “I wish I’d known that when I first started!” she exclaimed. So let’s […]
As different areas begin reopening, returning to BJJ is on the forefront of every practitioner’s mind. However, as eager as we all are to get back on the mats, remember that going back to training now after several months of lockdown will not be the same as returning after missing […]
It’s a warm, muggy Friday night in Old San Juan. Beautiful, curvy women tug their primped boyfriends through the cobblestone streets. The air holds pulsing rhythms of hypnotic salsa and…Taylor Swift. Not quite tropical, not quite American but in a league of its own, this is Puerto Rico. Retired Gringo […]
The women of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are known to create a community of encouragement for one another. Beth Thrasher of Jackson, Mississippi a purple belt under Joe Savion has taken it a step further. Wingfield High School is home to Vector Jiu Jitsu, the passion project of Beth and her […]
When we first embark upon the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey, we typically do it for our family, our friends, or ourselves. As women and nurturers, though, it changes somewhere along the way. We still do it for ourselves but we also see the bigger picture. We see how the camaraderie […]
