Tag Archives: self defense

The Academy Women's Team

BJJ: Embrace the Opponent (Empower Women Tournament)

Self Improvement, , , , , , , ,

At the end of January, I heard that Team Lawton was hosting the Empower Women Tournament on March 25th – women only, submission only, white and blue belts only. The format was round robin with 3 weight divisions. Each weight division would break out into separate white and blue belt brackets if entries allowed.

I should have known I was in trouble right away. Any other time people had talked about tournaments, I’d nope’d on out of the conversation immediately. No thanks, all set, hell no.

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BJJ: Grind This Way

Self Improvement, , , ,

August 31st was my two year Jitsu-versary. The picture of my feet on the mat for my first BJJ class is a Facebook memory that I will always want to “share.” It is the inspiration behind so much of my writing these days that perhaps this blog should be called ‘Grind This Way’ instead.

my feet on the mat of my BJJ school
First steps, first reps

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BJJ: The First Step to Being a Bad Ass is…

Self Improvement, , , ,

Over the summer, I had been training in earnest for my first stripe in BJJ. Two weeks ago, I was signed off on all the drills and techniques except one … the sprawl. For a combination of physical and mental reasons, the sprawl is my personal Everest. The mental reason is easy to describe – to perform a sprawl, you essentially throw yourself to the ground and my brain thinks that is a bad idea. The physical part is harder to describe, suffice it to say that some parts tighter than they should be and others aren’t as strong as they need to be.

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BJJ: Self Defense without the Nut Shots

Self Improvement, , , , , ,

The first time I mentioned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on this blog in 2015, I said that I was looking to acquire some skills as a newly single woman and “learning to grapple and defend myself in awkward situations seemed like an excellent choice.” What I didn’t mention was what prompted me to finally act on my thought.

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BJJ students lined up for the Shark Tank

BJJ: The Friendliest Shark Tank Around

Self Improvement, , , , , ,

In late April I finally made it to the gym to watch testing for the first time. The format was simple and I suspect it’s pretty universal among BJJ gyms.* The instructors sit at the front of the room and ask people to demonstrate techniques on the curriculum. Describing the reasons for the test and the focus for each belt color may not be standard but as a newbie, I appreciated it. I doubt Jay’s brand of commentary is considered par for the course, but it would have felt like I was in the wrong place without it.

BJJ Stripe Test

Jay and Eli providing direction and color commentary

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BJJ: Embrace the Stranger

Self Improvement, , , , ,

A while back, I posted what has become a fairly pivotal piece for me on my dog blog, All Around Dogs. The post was entitled Embrace the Awkward and talked about the “conscious incompetence” stage of learning where things feel difficult and, well, awkward. While the post relates it to dog training, I’ve taken my own advice to heart and have tried to apply it to every area of my life. Continue reading BJJ: Embrace the Stranger →

On My Own Two Feet

Divorce, , , , , ,

I came to a small but powerful realization today. In my last post, I lamented the end of my “First Feet” photo album entries. I had privately wondered if I could make it a tradition with the next serious guy in my life (not that I’m going there anytime soon) or if that would be too weird. I was caught up in how I started it and wasn’t thinking about how it could evolve. Continue reading On My Own Two Feet →