Page 21 - Issue 3

No one came to the first event. Or second. Or sixth. I saw this sisterhood play out during the sparring
Finally, as it seemed like professors worried about portion of the afternoon. Three of the younger girls
their students getting poached were going to suffocate were standing close to the wall but not talking to each
the idea, some girls showed up on the seventh try. And other. They were approached by a three-stripe white
the following month a couple more showed up, and you belt with a motherly vibe. The woman introduced
get the picture. herself to the girls and pulled them out of their shell
with a couple easy jokes. She then asked one of the girls
Melissa’s pledge: if you’re a female within a three- to roll and encouraged the other two to roll instead
hour drive from her, she will work out a schedule to of watch. This embodied the camaraderie created by
come roll with you. With such an ambitious perimeter, events like this.
Melissa covers most of North Florida. But what about
down south, where winter is never coming? Every girl on the mat was surrounded by someone
that shared a similar Jiu Jitsu story to their own. They
For south Florida, you need to familiarize yourself were able to let their guard down and connect. Young
with the Jiu Jitsu Gypsies and co-founder Olivia Aleida. girls could see role models that have paved a life path
Like Pretty Dangerous Women, the Jiu Jitsu Gypsies that they can follow. They can own a gym one day, or
aim to hold a traveling women-only open mat monthly start a brand, and earn their black belt.
with each group covering their respective territories.
While the event was officially a women-only open
While the groups run independent of each other mat, it felt more like a bunch of Jiu Jitsu nerds coming
they do get together annually to hold a statewide all- together to learn technique and swap stories and
female open mat. This year, the event was held at advice with friends. The spars were both friendly and
Fabin Rosa Jiu Jitsu Academy in Orlando, Florida. The fierce. Partners matched each others pace and not a
goal of these events, as far as I could tell, is to keep single injury occurred nor temper lost. It was just a fun
the momentum of sisterhood rolling within the Jiu atmosphere.
Jitsu community. Melissa encouraged the circle of girls
and women that surrounded her to become leaders I was jealous I couldn’t roll, but that was the point.
within the Jiu Jitsu community. To open gyms, to These women wanted to work their technique against
create brands, to become black belts. Olivia reminded other women. To feel what it’s like to sink in a choke
the circle to “hangout, have fun and giggle,” putting on a smaller neck, or pass guard on someone with
emphasis on really enjoying the day. more flexible hips. The truth of the matter is male and
female bodies are different. It only makes sense that a
The vibe was nothing short of a ‘speed seminar’ Jiu Jitsu player would want to practice against the same
followed by an open mat. Three different black belts body type they will be facing in competition.
showed techniques that built upon each other. Then
they joined the brown belts observing and aiding I know as a coach, I would encourage my athletes to
technique as the 50+ women and girls partnered up to seek out chances like this to train. Brandon is already
drill. The mat didn’t look like it was filled with girls, it excited to bring his daughter to these events when she
looked like it was filled with Jiu Jitsu players. White belts comes of age. Just part of the routine.
looked like white belts, blue like blue, and so on. The
lower belts took a little longer to grasp the technique,
the more experienced belts refined the details.

Editor’s Note: All of these events are held FREE of charge

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