I’m so fired up, I’m not even going with my usual introductory precursor on this one. I’m just going to dive right in. I think we’ve formed a pretty good rapport, I trust you can handle yourselves. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. I believe in you, honest! You’ve rallied from the dashing of dreams, you’ve had the wool pulled from your eyes but mustered-up! Hold up. Before I dive in, I will say I’m just a chic, who loves jits; and winning; and I’m competitive. Fair warning I think. So listen, I know the blonde jokes are hillllaaaarious. Considering I’m 5’5” with black hair, & brown eyes… (OOO yah, I know, I know-you had to go back and read that a few times for it to really sink in) they just aren’t that hilarious anymore. I’m kidding, I find them funny because I actually don’t have any common sense.
But that having been said, do you know what really isn’t hilarious at all? The following wasn’t even close to amusing. I looked up sports for guys and this is a cumulative list: Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, muay thai, MMA, boxing, karate, grappling, wrestling, hockey, rugby, football, baseball, car racing, basketball, golf, bull riding, lacrosse, weight lifting, soccer. I also looked up sports for girls and this is a cumulative list:Ice skating, gymnastics, track, swimming, volleyball, tap dancing, ballet, tennis, darts, shopping, horse shoes, softball, speed skating, girl scouts, equestrian, cheer, tumbling ( is that different from gymnastics? I don’t even know) hip hop dance, fencing. So offensive. Why are these two lists so completely different? We aren’t frail, fragile little flowers! I pride myself on being a very fit, athletic and well, BADASS female. Yes, yes indeed! I think most jits chics are full of awesomeness and badassery.
So here it is, what we ladies, across 2 time zones and 8 states, wished you guys knew, and really this applies to all ages (and not once did any of these chics say, “yo, bro take it easy!”)
• Where’s our damn prize money and super fight?
• Lack of recognition.. I mean let’s be honest we swim against the current
• We are few, but we are mighty
• Why are men so stubborn when tapping to us, & then when they do tap “oh, well, I didn’t want to hurt you by fighting it.”
• Tap a guy, next time he rolls with you he’s so pissed off. Omg dude, remember the 100 times we rolled before that ONE TAP?!
• Why are the women of the team the team trip planners?
• Why do you have to muscle thru, as soon as it looks like you’re losing the battle you ditch technique and resort to muscle
• I’m in top position so throw me half way across the room- awesome blossom
• My technique is going to eventually beat your muscle so do us both a favor and just stop it
• I’m not your mom, clean up after yourselves
• If you accidentally grab my ***** just keep rolling – it’s jiu-jitsu and we have to invade each other’s personal space, forgeddaboutit
• That having been said, probably best to avoid commenting on my lack of, or overabundance of, said ***** (probably best to avoid body talk altogether)
• Don’t hit on me! I’m your teammate. Gross dude, just gross!
• Everyone can add something to your training- regardless of belt, size or GENDER
• It’s not easy being in a male dominated sport but we love jiu-jitsu too-try & push yourselves AND US
• Leave your sexist comments at the door, where we ALL check our egos
• Please stop apologizing- we don’t apologize to each other for ripping out hair, neither should you
• Don’t generalize and lump us all together because of our GENDER. We bring something different to the jiu-jitsu table
• We have to wear rash guards or something under our gis, maybe you guys could extend the courtesy and do the same
We all love the sport, and the ladies feel that training with their male teammates is advantageous and are extremely happy, for the most part with things overall. In looking back, we’ve come a long way. That isn’t to say we don’t have a long way to go, but I can also see both sides of this coin. I know that at the end of the day it’s all about putting the best foot forward. We give it our all; and by controlling the things we can, by letting go of the things we cannot- our training, our performance, our reputations and our confidence will grow exponentially. Stack, Nicolini, Ribiero and many others have paved the way for us… and we are paving the way for those yet to come. Regardless of what is said,we deserve- nay command, respect, and give as good as we get.
Our only limitations are those we set in our own mind- Napolean Hill
The post What We Wished You Guys Knew: THE LADIES VIEW appeared first on Jiu-Jitsu Times.