If you have been training in this sport for a while, grinding away at improvement, chances are you’ve felt burnt out from time to time. As much fun as this sport is, sometimes working so hard with such intensity can leave us feeling frustrated, tired, and thinking of quitting. If […]
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 […]
As a clinical psychologist, I support the work people do to improve self-esteem, to better themselves, and to take responsibility for their mental health and life circumstances. However, there is a general flavor to the self-help industry—especially those that include martial arts and sports—that ignores the impact of systemic racism […]
There is comfort in the return to routine: the rash guard in my bag, the braids in my hair. There is joy in the dull ache in my arms and in the sweat dripping off of my face. There is joy in all of it, from fist bump to laundry […]
For those of us in the Jiu Jitsu community, we have all by now seen that many layers which we have fallen in love with, one way or another. We all have different sizes, backgrounds, lifestyles, and genders just to name a few. There is also a group within […]
At age 42 I found myself addicted to alcohol and I was ready to do whatever it took to get out of a disastrous downward spiral. My first step was seeking counseling. My therapist said that I needed to do something to help me get my strength back. My […]
There are only few paths to follow for those that love Jiu Jitsu so much that they want to make a career of it. Among the most common are you either to teach or you transition to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Although there are more opportunities as a Jiu Jitsu […]
Sometimes the day to day grind can wear us out and get us down. Our daily fight with traffic, a boss we don’t get along with, endless homework, peer pressure, strict teachers, annoying coworkers, not having enough money, mounting bills and the list goes on. Now imagine you are eleven […]
When I started jiu-jitsu, my goal was simply to be able to defend myself, but it quickly became much more. My journey begins with the purchase of my first home. I lived alone and thought it would be best to learn to defend myself. I signed up for self-defense classes […]
Last month, I was granted a much-needed scholarship from Girls in Gis, which will help me compete this year. This award has come at a time when I have found myself struggling with the so-called blue belt curse. I got my blue belt in December 2015 and it was a […]