The BJJ competition scene is particularly tough for jiujiteira who fall into the Heavy and Super Heavy divisions. Competition is scarce and the matchmaking is rarely balanced due to limited weight divisions. The Heavy division for Grappling Industries is anyone over 165 pounds. IBJJF has a Heavy division for ladies […]
When I was training BJJ, Muay Thai, and also boxing competitively, I never felt like there was time for cross-training. I was already at the gym six days a week. How could I possibly fit another workout into my day? My time as a competitive jiujiteira, Muay Thai fighter, and […]
To stick with BJJ for years, or a lifetime, you need to really love it in a way that often crosses the line into all-consuming obsession. Many of the people I’ve met in the BJJ community shape their entire lives around the sport. Their schedules are built around class. Their […]
Ironically, I didn’t fully comprehend how amazing yoga is for BJJ practitioners until I was no longer training BJJ. When I started my yoga teacher training, I hadn’t trained BJJ regularly for about four years. However, as I continued to learn about the kinesthetics of yoga and how the […]
I decided to start training BJJ again after a four-year-long hiatus, at ten weeks postpartum. I was seven months pregnant when I started teaching yoga at the gym where I used to train, so staying after class for BJJ wasn’t really an option. However, I found myself longing for […]
When I first started BJJ, I was fairly thin, mostly because I was always on a diet, always trying to lose weight, and always adding workouts to my week or minutes to my workouts. When my first coach suggested that I try to cut some weight for a competition, […]