A Girl in a Man's World

I live in a world that is dominated by the opposite sex. My siblings are all men, I work in a male oriented profession, and I fell in love with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is very much a man's sport.

I started taking the weekly "Ladies Only" BJJ class at my gym in February of this year to help supplement the MMA classes I was taking. I had been taking MMA classes since July of last year but I had no experience with grappling so I thought adding BJJ to my regimin was a good idea. I eventually quit MMA because my female training partner couldn't take the class anymore and the guys simply didn't want to work with me. The day that I showed up to class and sat on the mat watching from the sidelines like and idiot was the last time I went to MMA.

 I continued to take BJJ after I quit MMA but takingone class per week just wasn't enough. I've been the only female to take the class consistently since the beginning of the ladies program so I never really had anyone to roll with either. So I worked up the courage to ask my coach if  I couldn't start taking classes with the guys. I was ecstatic when he said that I could, as long as I could hang.

I'm sure the guys were surprised when they saw me there waiting for class to start wearing a pink gi. I suppose I could have worn my white gi but regardless of my gi color, I figured I would stand out anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when all the guys in the class welcomed me with open arms! As a matter of fact, the veteran of the group told me that he would handle anyone in the class who gave me a hard time. I couldn't have been happier!  

Trying to keep up with the guys is very much a challenge. I do everything they do. The only special treatment I got was on my first day in the guys class. I didn't roll that day, I only watched. I've been expected to perform just like the guys ever since then. The guys are instructed not to take it easy on me. In fact, they are told, "Don't trust the pink gi".

I'm not as experienced as the guys and I'm certainly not as strong but regardless of how beaten and battered I get, I refuse to quit.  I'm just girl trying to survive in a man's world...