I need some of your help

[Katiekat]

Hello, ....well ok im a 16 yr old female who really really wants to learn BJJ. Im 110 lbs and 5'4 , so i guess you could say im fairly small. Anyhoo my question is, as dumb as it may sound, how do you think i would make it in the BJJ world? Im mean cuz like im little and all and i know a lot of BIG guys do BJJ. Also, if i walked into one of your classes how would you feel/ react to a female in BJJ?

Sorry, i know these are silly questions but im terribly shy and i'd just like to hear what everyone has to say, just so i can get some ideas. I need some insight before i step on that mat! Thanks!

[gracilva]

there are quite a few girls in my class and they seem to handle it preety well so i would say give it a go, you can partner up with another girl or a lightly framed guy.
thats the great thing about bjj, the strength helps but its mostly about technique.
anyway i would highly recommend it, best of luck

[cakegirl]

Hi Katiekat,

I'm the only woman who trains where I do BJJ. I'm also 5'4, but a lot heavier than you. I'm still significantly outweighed by most of the guys in class.

Yes, it's all about technique - to a degree. There are also times when a guy who's 50kg heavier than me pins me down where it doesn't matter what technique I'm trying to use - I'm still stuck!

The challenge now for me is to learn how to avoid those situations - i.e. how to be a bettter defensive fighter!

~Cakegirl

[Mr. Heel Hook]

Katiegirl, you will do very well. It will take some time to get over the strength difference...but rest assured you will do so. BJJ is one of the best arts you can take as a female so don't be discouraged because of the nuances in gender. Technique maters more than anything else. That goes for strength to. It is nice to be stronger, but there is always someone stronger than you are...guy or girl. In the long run, technique is most important. And fortunately that isn't gender based either.

[swan104]

I'm only 5ft 6 and I find most guys I roll with seem to tower over me! I spend a lot of my time in my guard or half-guard only because they can overpower me. A lot of the time my experience and technique is not good enough to get me out of the situation and get a submission on, but hopefully, the more I train, and easier it will get.

On a side note, I rolled with a guy today who must have been about 6ft 1. The first thing he did was to get me on my back, which was fine because it allowed me to work on my guard. He did use his strength to force my arms out of the way for a choke a few times. I did manage to get one or two tapouts out of him as well.

My advice would be to just go for it! You will find yourself in horrible positions, but that's the whole point of training!

The way I see it, theres nothing I can do about being small and the majority of people are going to be bigger than you, so thats even more reason to train so you can get as much advantage over a bigger person as possible.

Katiekat, let us know how it goes! And welcome to the forum!

[SweepEm]

KatieKat:

What city do you live in?

Jump into BJJ with both feet if you really want to train BJJ. Unfortunately, there will always be chauvanistic guys you'll meet up with along the way.
There are plenty of girls just like you that want to become involved with martial arts but are intimidated by the male dominance. Keep looking until you find a good school with an open minded instructor and lots of good students.

If you are in the LA area, the Machados have an all girl class taught by two female black belts, Leka and the first American female black belt, Cindy Omatsu. Many of the schools here in LA have women and some do have a women's only class.

The popularity of women in BJJ has risen very fast recently. There are many more high ranking women athletes around the US. Every year, there are many more women competitors in the major BJJ tournaments.

In Santa Cruz, there will be an all womens BJJ seminar taught by Luciana (Luka) Tavares. I believe it was last year that Luka received her black belt and she's very knowledgeable. Luka is married to Megaton Diaz, from Arizona.


Black Belt Luciana Tavares, (aka "Luka"), will give an all women's seminar Friday, October 24th, 6-9 p.m. (the evening before the U.S.Open VIII tournament) in Santa Cruz, CA.


for more info about the seminar and the US OpenBJJ tournament:

http://www.claudiofrancabjj.com/

In New Jersey, Purple Belt Gazzy Parman will be conducting a seminar for children and also adults.

Gazzy Parman Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Seminar - Sunday, September 14th
Come train with one of America's Top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Female Competitors, GAZZY PARMAN on Sunday, September 14th (Grapplers Quest Worlds Weekend) at Dragon Spirit Martial Arts' brand new 2,000 square foot facility located at: 550 Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.

*All proceeds for Gazzy Parman's Children's BJJ Seminar will be donated directly to The Nader Parman II Fund and St. Judes Children's Cancer Research Hospital. Come out and support these worthy causes.

For information on Nader Parman II, go to: enews.tufts.edu/stories/052202...artbreaking.htm

These top quality Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Seminars will focus on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu's Best Half Guard, Spider Guard, '93' Guard, and Butterfly Guard Sweeps.

Children's Seminar Only: $40
Children's Seminar Time: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

2 Hour Seminar Only: $50
Adult Seminar Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location:
Dragon Spirit Martial Arts
550 Valley Brook Avenue
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071

For maps and directions to the seminar, go to:mappoint.msn.com/(anxeagrlx10l...2c+NJ+07071|L1|

Check out Gazzy in Superfight Action:
onthemat.com/Images/news/grapp...egirlxgazzy.mov

Check out Gazzy in Action at Grapplers Quest:

https://www.onthemat.com/Images/gq/gqw..._gazzyerica.mov

Gazzy Parman Competition Highlights – Nova Uniao Purple Belt Instructor
2003 Desert Quest Arizona State Champion
2003 Copa Pacifica Gold Medalist
2003 Abu Dhabi/U.S.A. Trials Tournament Champion
2002 Grapplers Quest West Absolute Champion
2002 Grapplers Quest West Lightweight Champion
2002 TapOut Grapplers Quest Most Technical Fighter
2001 California State Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion
2000 Pan American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion
Desert Quest Superfight Champion

[SweepEm]

Oh, and your question wasn't dumb at all.

There are hundreds to thousands of girls like you that want to learn martial arts but are intimidated or afraid.

Learn a martial art and you'll develop more confidence and if you are shy, it will help with your self esteem and confidence where you won't be as shy and you'll find many new friends.

[spiderchoke]

Katiekat,

You should definately try out bjj if you want to. Do not let anyone determine what you do other than yourself.

Sweepem is right, there are literally hundreds to thousands of girls in bjj. There will be some guys that are not cool about it. There will be some guys that you will be able to beat in competition. (with practice)

In the begining you will have to continue to remind yourself of the fact that technique will win when you have learned it well enough. You could end up being one of the most technical fighters in the school, if only out of need.

After you have trained for some months, and are begining to get a basic understanding of the strategies that may work for you, you will find yourself having the upper hand on new students, and holding your own with some of the guys that have been there.

Focus on the success, no matter how small you may think it is.

Good Luck!

"Everday spent training is one day closer to learning something."
....Spiderchoke

[Bjjexpertise@be]

If a woman were to roll with a me, THey'd most definitely win. The story almost always the same. I do a double leg takedown, they pull me into their guard, then i freak out. I want to be chivalrous yet i don't want the audience to think i'm taking advantage of the woman, so i usually lose due to the fact i don't do alot of the moves that may be sexualy oriented. Sorry i got off topic, just some FYI

[BJJ_fighter]

BJJ Training

KatieKat,
Come on down to the academy that I train at we don't have a lot of girls but we do have a few and we also have some teenager(12-16) who are about your size. I train at United Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Riverside, CA Call them for details about classes (909) 687-9000

BJJ_Fighter

[Katiekat]

Ya know thats where i wanted to go but then i found a Royce Gracie Jiu Jitsu Network school about the same distance away, and Royce himself comes to promote you your belt. Id really like to go there but i just gotta compare prices between the 2 schools and that will decide where i will go

Thanks so much everyone for your help!

[Mr. Heel Hook]

If I was you Kate, I would go to where Leka is. If at all possible.