Fight Like a Girl

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” - Ryan Holiday

I started my Jiu Jitsu journey about six and half years ago. I was so nervous in the beginning. At first I was the only girl in the Combatives class. It seemed almost ridiculous to me that I would ever be able to fight grown men.

When I think about all of the different male training partners I have had over the years, I would say that 98% of them are bigger than me, and 100% of them are stronger than me. I was taught from the beginning that Helio Gracie developed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to be effective for smaller individuals by focusing on leverage and technique to overcome larger and stronger opponents. So, I decided to trust the system and do the work. The obstacle of training against bigger opponents became the way. I couldn’t go around it, or avoid it. My only choice was to accept it and improve my condition. I was able to do this through learning principles and techniques.

Now, six and half years later, I’m glad I never had size or strength on my side.