Article About BJJ Women Being Excluded on the Mat

So in perusing the interwebs this morning I read a post on JiuJiu‘s blog about a female who visited another academy and was asked to sit because she was the only girl in the class….

My initial reaction is “well that’s messed up.”

But now I mainly want to know why- why were these guys uncomfortable training with a female? Was this a weird fluke, or is this the norm for the academy? I would hope it was a fluke-tThe presence of women in a school is a sign of a healthy academy, for the most part (of course there are exceptions to the rule, but for the most part this holds true across the board) and not that anyone asked, but I would say the owner or primary instructor of the academy should talk to their guys about training with females. You can’t control who is going to walk through your door, or what gender they will be, but no one is helping to make a co-ed environment if you are given the opportunity to include a minority into your academy, and then you exclude said minority.

I dunno, those are just my thoughts. What do you guys think about this situation? Comment here or on JiuJiu’s blog, otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Jiu Jitsu and the Case of the Missing Pants

Guys, I can’t find my pants.

Well, not just any pants, my Under Armour compression capri pants that I like to wear in competition. It’s not really the end of the world, I have other capri workout pants like them, but that particular pair fit the best, and (I would never admit this to the other pairs…if they were, you know, animate objects) they are my favorite.

And I can’t find them. And it’s starting to irk me, enough to write a blog post about it.

Have you ever had a favorite piece of clothing or gear that you like to train and compete with, and then you seem to lose? Isn’t it kind of annoying?

Feel free to share your story, otherwise have a great day everyone!

Website Frustrations and other fun stuff

So I’m on the phone with IT for godaddy.com- no, not for this blog, for my job.

So…how you guys doin’? Anything good happening today? Anything frustrating the hell out of you that you would care to share?

Anyway, train hard and have a great day everyone!

Happy Friday: Hogwarts Edition

Happy Friday!

First and foremost, congratulations to Janni Larsson on winning gold at the WPJJC!

Ok, now onto Hogwarts. Apparently some Harry Potter fans banded together and made the University of Phoenix equivalent of Hogwarts.

That’s right, friends. You can take online courses in Herbology, Charms, Potions and more, courtesy of the folks over at HogwartsisHere.com.

I really haven’t gotten into the material itself, but you can pick your house (no Sorting Hat, sorry), peruse the wares over in Diagon Alley, and I’m sure other cool stuff I just haven’t gotten to yet.

If this is the sort of thing you are also into, check it out and let me know what you think- and let me know what your user name is so we can link up!

Speaking of Houses-

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

WPJJC, and Your Favorite Foggy Brained Blogger

Happy Hump Day everyone! Sorry, my brain is a little slow this morning, so this is going to be a pretty short post.

As far as I can tell from my Facebook feed the WPJJC (World Pro Jiu Jitsu Championships) happened last night in Abu Dhabi. I’m assuming there was a video stream for the event: did anyone happen to watch the matches?

Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

 

 

Jiu Jitsu and the “Bro” Problem

Shark Girl had a good point in her blog post, about bjj suffering from a man, or specifically “bro”, problem- referring to this article in the NY times about the technology community and their own issue with alienating females in the field.

Fortunately we don’t really have this problem in our academy: everyone, man or woman, is treated with respect and we all share our enthusiasm and drive for learning and improving in the sport. And I am aware that I am probably pretty lucky to be in this situation: there are always going to be jerks in the world- guys who make lewd comments about how they want to be in some girl’s triangle or whatever.

From here on out I’m going to call these folks “bros”. I want to make this clear: men in general are not the problem- I know a lot of jiu jitsu guys that are kind, respectful and overall wonderful to train and associate myself with. I don’t hear these inappropriate sorts of comments often, but I think that also has to do with the fact that I stay off of Internet forums and if a comment like that is made, it’s not made by one of our guys but rather at some outside event like a tournament, and I am generally oblivious to conversations going on around me during those events. Nothing personal, I’m usually just focused on something else.

For some women however they have to deal with those bros every.single.day. When this sort of culture is unchecked, it can make an uncomfortable training environment for a woman to train: it doesn’t matter if the transgressors mean what they are saying or not- it may be a joke, but it can slowly but surely alienate you female training partners, making them feel unwelcome in your presence and creating bad mojo in your academy in general. This absolutely doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have fun, or joke around, or share a laugh with your teammates- but no one likes to be made to feel like the odd duck, the freak in the crowd.

Really it boils down to this: Bros, I implore you, before you make that shitty comment that isn’t very funny in the first place (which let’s be honest here, you know it’s true) regarding women in jiu jitsu- please take a moment to think and recognize that your female teammate may be different from you, but they also have every right to be at your academy, to learn to love this sport/martial art as much as you do. Also, while you may make a personal delineation that you are not referring to those particular women in your academy- but really, just… just don’t, guys.

What do you guys think? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

BJJ Memes!

Ok, real talk people: I just spent a whole bunch of time writing a post…and it’s not very good.

So I’m going to go sit in a corner and think about if that post can be salvaged, and how: in the meantime enjoy The Science of Skill’s 4 Best BJJ Memes

Have a great day everyone!

Article by Val Worthington Regarding the Jiu Jitsu Salieri

Good Morning (or whatever time of day appropriate for your timezone)!

Val Worthington wrote a great article about the Jiu Jitsu Salieri– someone who care deeply for the sport, but who one would not consider a prodigy or dynamo, much like Antonio Salieri, who was a musician and contemporary of Mozart. And if you don’t recognize the name Salieri, well that’s sort of the point: the film and play Amadeus are about the composer, who takes issue with Mozart- who is quite gifted, but whose manners and attitude in contrast are quite crude, while Salieri wallows in his own mediocrity.

I feel that everyone has a place in the BJJ community, and agree with her sentiment that you should find a place in the community that dovetails with your strengths and other attributes. Hell, even if you do win tournaments left and right, you should have something outside of the tournament circuit to concentrate your time on. Maybe because I think in the long term sometimes, but our bodies can only take so much punishment, and there may (or probably) will come a time when you can no longer compete- due to illness, injury or any other sort of major life event. To find something in which you can give back to the BJJ community without being a tournament competitor I believe gives you the greatest chance to be happy, to be involved in the sport and culture without putting your body constantly at risk of breaking down.

Jiu jitsu in so many ways is still relatively new, and I really believe there is still plenty of room for innovation and new ideas. As Val Worthington also points out, even if you are a not a jiu jitsu prodigy, the jiu jitsu community still needs people with a variety of skills and strengths and you can most certainly find a way to contribute, even on a smaller scale.

Check out the article and let me know what you think. Otherwise, have a great day (night…whatever) everyone!

Happy Friday: Interesting Article about Rolling…Edition

Happy Friday!

JiuJiu put up an interesting post about sparring, neuroscience and the proclivity for one-upmanship. It’s pretty interesting, and talks about the misperception of strength, suggesting that you and your partner may really try to match the intensity of one another, but each person is estimating that the other is going a little harder than the other, eventually escalating into a hard roll when that was really never the intention.

Check it out and let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great weekend everyone!

Jiu Jitsu: The Unconventional Form of Meditation

Well it can be, sometimes.

I was reading one of cooking blogs that I follow- whatever, don’t judge- and apparently one of the bloggers happens to be a yoga instructor, as well as a kickass cook. Her post that day was about how she doesn’t meditate: which automatically conjures that New Age sort of image- incense, sitting with legs folded, possibly chanting something not in one’s own language.

The purpose of meditation is to stop dwelling on the past, or experience anxiety about the future- it’s about existing in the here and now. Which is why I suggest jiu jitsu be regarded as an unconventional form of meditation. At times it can be considered like yoga…with another person….trying to submit you… But the effect is really the same- you are pretty much forced to keep your attention in the here and now. Thoughts about that stupid thing you did yesterday, how the next day is going to go, they all go out the window as your immerse yourself into a technique, focusing on the proper arrangement of your hands, feet and other assorted body parts for successful execution. Which sounds similar to yoga when you think about it, which is what we all usually think of when it comes to an activity to associate with meditation.

And I will definitely admit there are definitely days when jiu jitsu doesn’t feel meditative at all: you feel like you are just grinding out every technique, you can’t seem to get anything to go your way; it totally happens, particularly in the beginning. You are just learning the basics, and let’s face it jiu jitsu is one of those sports that takes a long time to fully master. Maybe not forever to learn, but certainly a long time to master. And sometimes you need those days too: you just spent an hour of your life worrying about this stupid sweep to armbar, and you were so engrossed in it that you temporarily forgot about that deadline at work, or your least favorite in-law coming to town.

Jiu jitsu shouldn’t be an escape from your problems, but it does offer a nice break from them- to give you a fresh perspective, to get you back to center and hopefully give you some peace of mind.

Welp, those are my rambling thoughts for today: what do you think, have you found jiu jitsu to put you into the here and now, or not so much just yet? Or hell, you  feel this doesn’t apply to you at all? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!