Women and BJJ

After viewing the only women’s match at the Newaza World tournament I thought this would be a valid time to address women and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

We need more women in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Personally, I’d love it if my girl practices, but she’s more of the walking/hiking type of sports girl. But I haven’t given up hope yet.

Actually I believe if more women practice BJJ then it’d validate the technique over strength notion that jiu-jitsu supposedly champions.

For the Women
Positive arguements for women concidering jiu-jitsu:

• It’s fun.
• It tones, lifts and shapes like no other form of exercise.
• It’s a safe low-impact sport.
• It deals more with technique rather than strength.
• It has “self-defense” applications from day one – learning how to deal with an opponent while on your back.*

Tips for women wanting to join BJJ:

• Watch a class first. If the class is friendly, safe, not dripping with testosterone i.e. not crazy competitive, and it suits you – by all means, try it out.
• Please use a sports bra under your gi. If modest, use a rash guard and a sports bra.
• Put your hair in a ponytail. For really long hair, a braid will do.
• Trim your finger nails. Actually everyone should do this.
• You will be placed in “awkward” positions.
• If there are no other women in the class, partner up with the small guy. Go easy on him.
• Stay away from the overtly macho guys or the big smelly guy staring at you.
• Don’t be afraid to drill with other people HOWEVER feel free to decline rolling or sparring with someone you feel uneasy about.
• Don’t be afraid to ask the instructor questions or to voice your concerns.
• If you end up joining, buy a gi. The school should have in-house gis but on one want to continue wearing them after their first class.

For the Men
Behaviour tips for men with women in their gym, school or academy:

• Do not stare.
• Smile.
• Above all be friendly.
• Check your male pride at the door.

When rolling with women who are beginners or white belts:

• Remember she is not your competition.
• Easy on the submissions. Crank an armbar and she gets hurt, everybody loses. You just lost a training partner and she can’t train until she gets better.
• Work on your technique. I’m sure you can smash her, but does that mean you should?
• Do NOT persue the matter of sparring with her if she does not want to. No means no, dumbass.

When rolling with women who are blue belt and beyond:

• Remember she is not your competition.
• Easy on the submissions. She’ll be able to defend a lot better at this level, but if you don’t have a submission within 5 sec of attempting it, LET GO. If she was your size and had your strength, do you think you’d still be able to “muscle” a submission? Um… no.
• Work on your technique. Jiu-jitsu is all about technique. See the woman with the colored belt you’re rolling with, yeah she’s got mad technique. Why do you think her belt is colored?
• If she’s of a higher belt and she submits you, do NOT go Captain Caveman on her the next time you roll together. She’s a higher fucking level belt. Of course she’s going to submit you. Don’t take it personal. If you do you’re a dumbass.

*NOTE: Anyone concerned with self-defense should be aware of ALL the facts when it comes to grappling and self-defense. Self-defense is a topic far more dense than it appears to be. I submit the following articles to further one’s knowledge on the topic. Real self-defense training, and the pros & cons of grappling. I will re-address this in another post…