Female Jiu Jitsu Player You Should Read About: Rosângela “Zanza” Conceição

I just read a quick bio on bjj player Rosângela “Zanza” Conceição, and while it’s slightly embarrassing to admit I have never heard the name before, I’m glad to have taken the time out to read her bio on BJJ Heroes. Originally a judo player, this jiu jitsu black belt also went to the Olympics not once but twice, in two different sports (once for judo and once for wrestling).

And if that weren’t awesome enough, she also worked at a hospital in Morumbi teaching children with Down’s Syndrome the fundamentals of judo and overall conditioning.

And finally, you know you’re awesome when a comic book is created for you:

“In 2011 Rosângela Conceição became the subject of a series of comic books named: As Aventuras de Zanza (the Adventures of Zanza). In these comics, Zanza shows the values and morals of martial arts through these illustrations.”

If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is (apparently).

Check out her bio, and have a great day everyone!

Happy Friday: Garcia/Dern/Metamoris 6 Edition

Happy Friday everyone!

So apparently the saga continues: according to an article in MMA Fighting, there were talks of Mackenzie Dern and Gabi Garcia fighting in Metamoris 6, but couldn’t come to terms with payment. According to Dern, the paltry sum they were willing to pay the female fighters, in addition to the match being on absurdly short notice (4 days before the event) just didn’t make sense and that it’s detrimental to women’s jiu jitsu, and I absolutely agree. It sets a precedent that would take a long time to reverse, if ever.

However, believe it or not I can also see Garcia’s point about wanting to fight anyone, anywhere (I know, I surprise me too sometimes). Personally, it grates against my soul to think of walking away from a fight. I think Gabi needs to see the bigger picture here though: it’s not about the fighting, it’s about the expectations that is being set when agreeing to do these sorts of events. I don’t think she’s seeing the larger implication by accepting a smaller amount- that her jiu jitsu is worth less than a man’s jiu jitsu. She and Dern are some of the most recognized names in the community, male or female, so why should they accept a sum that would be more deserving of a lesser known name?

Either she doesn’t realize this, or just doesn’t care- which actually I wouldn’t be surprised. I imagine she’s had a lifetime of practice not giving a damn what other people say or think, but in this case I do think she needs to take a step back and see the longer, more nuanced implications of her actions.

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

Ralek Gracie and Foot in Mouth Syndrome, Caught on Tape

Jiu Jiu wrote an article on her blog about how Ralek Gracie basically spent 15 minutes putting his foot in his mouth. 

First, I applaud her for taking the time to watch the whole damn thing. I absolutely hate the straight on, close up shots the organization seems to be so fond of when it comes to interview footage- I don’t know what it is, it just really gets on my nerves.

Anyway, apparently he spends the time talking about how his comment was not sexist, but rather out of context, and all other sorts of things I have no interest in hearing at the moment (sorry, not sorry).

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

Metamoris on Booking Women’s Matches- They Can’t “Afford” Them

In an article on Girljitsu according to Ralek Gracie- head of the Metamoris event, the organization can’t afford to put together more women’s matches. It sounds like there is a promise to put women on a prelim card, but there’s a lot of pressure in regards to who is placed in the main event.

“It’s absolutely not a joke who ends up on the card.” says Gracie.

…you want to run that by me again, Ralek?

In all seriousness though, I understand that he wants to appeal to the most people as possible, but I think he’s doing his own organization a great disservice by not including more women’s matches. I mean damn, even the UFC got on board and started including more women’s matches. I read the article, I know Ralek attributes this change to Rousey and her rise to fame, but really it was only a matter of time- well, I think it was.

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

Happy Friday! Respectful Competitor Edition

Happy Friday everyone!

If there is one thing you could say about the jiu jitsu community, it’s that for the most part its participants and competitors are tremendously respectful, particularly at the higher levels.

GracieMag recently published an article about how one competitor, Monique Elias of Alliance, injured her ankle during one of her matches at Pans. And, true to the character of a jiu jitsu player (aka, being stubborn as all hell), Elias decided to continuing to compete even with her injury.

The tournament continued, and none of her competitors went after the ankle- which, it didn’t even occur to me until it was mentioned in the article, but technically it’s not illegal to attack an injured limb.

It’s the respect they had for her- and for their own technique, I feel, that made everyone avoid her injured ankle. Everyone wants to win, obviously, but they also want to show their skill, and respect their fellow competitors. Personally it wouldn’t even occur to me to attack an injured limb- if anything, in all honesty I would try to avoid it at all costs. What sort of skill and technique mastery are you displaying by intentionally exacerbating an existing injury?

I’m totally going to geek out on all of you for a second, I’d like to think jiu jitsu players take a page from Firefly character Malcolm Reynolds’ book. In one scene a character asks if Reynolds will shoot him in his sleep:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Men and Their Partners Who Don’t Let Them Train With Women….What?

One female jiu jitsu player recently shared her experience on Planet BJJ, about how a man refused to roll with her because the man’s wife “wouldn’t let him” roll with a female….

Er, what?

I legitimately do not understand this mentality- which admittedly even though I was in a relationship with a fellow grappler/jiu jitsuka/whatever, I’m also involved in the sport so I’m coming at this from a totally different perspective. I was never jealous of him rolling with another female because I knew how I behaved with other guys, and understood what happened in class and on the mats.

I would really like to sit down with one (or a couple) of these women and try to understand their concerns which leads them to push this edict on their partners. Is it lack of communication? An expectation as to how each grappler will react while rolling with one another (how a girl will react to the guy, and vice versa)? I’m genuinely curious as to where the issue lies precisely: I typically believe that once we understand the cause of an issue, we can work on resolving it, or at least coming to some sort of compromise.

Have you encountered this as a woman, a guy refusing to roll with you due to the request of a partner, and more importantly, did they explain why? Dudes, have you been with a girlfriend/partner that didn’t like the idea of you rolling with a female, and did you two talk about what was causing the issue? Let me know!

 

 

Post on Grappling Pet Peeves from Grappling Girl

Grappling Girl posted an article about the biggest pet peeves she and other grapplers have when it comes to class, drilling and rolling. I’m trying to think what my personal pet peeves are, but right now it’s like when someone asks you what you want for your birthday or Christmas- you’re on the spot and blank.

What are some of your pet peeves? Let me know!

Happy Friday! Flashback Edition

Happy Friday everyone! It’s been almost 3 weeks since I received my black belt, and I am still expecting someone to tap me on the shoulder and ask for the belt back, realizing their mistake. It’s crazy to think 8 years ago I started this whole journey, and just how different I’ve become because of it. I was clumsy, shy, and now I’m…. still clumsy, still shy now and again,  but there’s been so much of a difference it’s kind of amazing.

So, since I’m in this reminiscent sort of mood, I have some good news and some back news for you: The bad news is you’re going to get a lot of photos of me.

The good news however is that I seem to look better as I get older- just like Sean Connery! Yes!

 

In the beginning….

This was about 2 to 3 months before I started jiu jitsu. As you can probably see, while I was an active person, my diet wasn’t exactly the healthiest… Fast forward about a year later (I’m terrible at keeping track of these things):

This may have been the first seminar I attended, I’m not entirely sure…

 

 

 

Definitely not the first in-house I did but you know, nothing wrong with a nice action shot.

 

First ever IBJJF Tournament. Fun fact, this year was the first time I have been back to the Long Beach Pyramid (for Master Worlds)

The first documented  podium “Katie Face”- trust me, there are a lot of Katie faces, but this one is tournament specific.

Some more IBJJF tournaments… And developing a sweet streak of gray by this point (I found my first gray hair when I was 15- it was bound to happen).

some training, training and more training….

 

And more tournaments- at this point I’ve learned I can’t look straight ahead when my hand is raised because I’ll probably have a weird look on my face.

Much like Sarah in this photo, while continuing on our journey we learn to enjoy the ride, laugh a bit and appreciate the time we share with teammates and other fellow jiu jitsu players.

Back to what I was saying: you may think by the time you get your black belt you’ll be super cool, or know everything, or something of that nature…

 

(this was a photo that was taken for work along with some headshots, btw, not how I hang around the gym out of my gi)

Nope, you’ll probably still be an awkward, somewhat more knowledgable panda, and you have a ton more to learn. That’s one of the great (and for some, frustrating) things about Jiu jitsu- it’s a sport/martial art that constantly evolves, so there is always something more to learn and take away from your time on the mats.

Hopefully you enjoyed (or at least survived) this trip down memory lane. Have a great weekend everyone!

All Women Card for Metamoris? What Do You Think?

Jiu-Jitsu Times wrote a post proposing an interesting idea: an all female card for the next Metamoris. The article goes on to suggest a number of potential match-ups, going the jiu jitsu vs. mma route, and quite frankly makes a number of nice pair ups that I would be interested in seeing.

As long as we adhere to a strict “no double guard pull” rule. I don’t know how that could be enforced, but it needs to be put into effect.

What do you guys think? Are you down for an all ladies Metamoris? Even if that never happens, I would still love to see at least some women’s matches in the next couple of events.

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

Black Belt (!!)

 

 

So on Monday night we had a seminar with Saulo (you all know which Saulo I’m talking about) and at the end we had several momentous promotions- black belt promotions, actually, and I was one of the students promoted.

It’s funny, and a little weird- it’s something you strive for, but never focus on: first, because that sort of pressure can be overwhelming, particularly in the beginning- and second, because the process of getting to your black belt is just as important as the rank itself. More so, actually. Think about how much you learn when you start training for a competition, how your skills sharpen- all for what, anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes of actual competing? We continue on this journey- we learn, we laugh, we cry, become frustrated, experience epiphanies when something all comes together and finally makes sense for us-it’s all a part of the experience that culminates into preparing you for your black belt.

Earning your black belt is a tremendous achievement to be sure, but it’s definitely not the end of the journey. There are still techniques to learn, positions to drill and commit to muscle memory, more experiences to be had- not to mention more opportunities to teach, and learn from one another. Also, while I am one of the ones who received the black belt, it’s really an accomplishment for the team and the academy in general. None of this could have happened if my teammates weren’t there with me, and I am tremendously thankful for that.

 

I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds in store- not only for myself, but for my teammates as well. I’m thrilled not only to progress, but to train with my teammates and see them make the same journey as well.

So, um, in closing- black belt, yay! 😀