Interesting read: my favourite training partner is a woman, which is part of the reason why I try to be as supportive of women in BJJ as I can (I'm not a woman, but I am fairly small at 64kg, so often train with them). Nice to see more female BJJ bloggers out there (you're in good company, with Georgette, Elyse, Christina etc).
Thanks slidyfoot! As I note in a follow-up post, on balance there are quite a lot of great male practitioners that fully respect female players and certainly I wouldn't be the martial artist I am today with out the help and guidance of male coaches and training partners. Indeed, while BJJ can be tough for women, the legacy of people like Helio Gracie demonstrates the value of the smaller person's game/perspective so there is definitely fertile ground for female excellence in BJJ. Equally, in such a male-dominated art, it is important to have men, like you, who seek to actively include women (is tough enough walking into any dojo as a lady, much less one where you're expected to roll around in a rather intimate way). Thanks again.
Interesting read: my favourite training partner is a woman, which is part of the reason why I try to be as supportive of women in BJJ as I can (I'm not a woman, but I am fairly small at 64kg, so often train with them). Nice to see more female BJJ bloggers out there (you're in good company, with Georgette, Elyse, Christina etc).
ReplyDeleteThanks slidyfoot! As I note in a follow-up post, on balance there are quite a lot of great male practitioners that fully respect female players and certainly I wouldn't be the martial artist I am today with out the help and guidance of male coaches and training partners. Indeed, while BJJ can be tough for women, the legacy of people like Helio Gracie demonstrates the value of the smaller person's game/perspective so there is definitely fertile ground for female excellence in BJJ. Equally, in such a male-dominated art, it is important to have men, like you, who seek to actively include women (is tough enough walking into any dojo as a lady, much less one where you're expected to roll around in a rather intimate way). Thanks again.
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