Thanks, Meerkatsu. Was spar-a-licious and feelin' it today. Ladies worked hard and were looking great on the mats. Excellent vibe as always and we discussed ways forward for more and different meet ups. I love the grassroots, and the BJJ community can be so amazing! :D
It was great fun, A.D.! Was a cold, miserable day and I am so grateful to the women who turned out for it. An incredibly sisterly group; never ceases to amaze me how these folk that meet each other at competition put it all aside and just want to learn to be better players. Is inspiring!
I've not trained with Indra or Dom for ages: as so often with these women's open mats, makes me regret being the wrong gender, or I could have popped down to this. ;p
Hi slideyfoot, Dom's game improves all the time and I get a huge amount out of rolling with her; great to get a chance to roll with Indra too, never before hand the pleasure. I am a bit conflicted about the whole 'women only' thing as I hate to exclude, but in an effort to nurture and seek to actively introduce women to BJJ, I think it is appropriate at this point in the community's development. I am aware of the irony, however, and know that some would label it sexist (though I am not accusing you of anything - just remarking!). Thanks for reading :)
Hi Mirian B, Appreciate you making the journey when you weren't well. As you know there'll be lots of other opportunities, both at my club and around London, so is best to rest when ill and save you strength for the long game. :)
When something hasn't yet reached a critical mass (like women in BJJ), I don't think it's discriminatory for an event to focus on solely that group until it has.
I guess you could sort of make a comparison to all-women shortlists in politics, as part of an effort to bolster the still distressingly low numbers of female MPs. Obviously lots of other issues involved in that particular example, but same goal: increase representation.
That's exactly where I'm coming from, slideyfoot, and concisely articulated (as ever!), but you know how reason can sometimes fall on deaf ears ;) Is heartening to know how much support we do have from the BJJ community :D
Good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meerkatsu. Was spar-a-licious and feelin' it today. Ladies worked hard and were looking great on the mats. Excellent vibe as always and we discussed ways forward for more and different meet ups. I love the grassroots, and the BJJ community can be so amazing! :D
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun! Especially the "Queen of the Hill"!
ReplyDeleteIt was great fun, A.D.! Was a cold, miserable day and I am so grateful to the women who turned out for it. An incredibly sisterly group; never ceases to amaze me how these folk that meet each other at competition put it all aside and just want to learn to be better players. Is inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI've not trained with Indra or Dom for ages: as so often with these women's open mats, makes me regret being the wrong gender, or I could have popped down to this. ;p
ReplyDeleteHey there, it was good to be there and meet you all...keep up the good work! x
ReplyDeleteHi slideyfoot,
ReplyDeleteDom's game improves all the time and I get a huge amount out of rolling with her; great to get a chance to roll with Indra too, never before hand the pleasure. I am a bit conflicted about the whole 'women only' thing as I hate to exclude, but in an effort to nurture and seek to actively introduce women to BJJ, I think it is appropriate at this point in the community's development. I am aware of the irony, however, and know that some would label it sexist (though I am not accusing you of anything - just remarking!). Thanks for reading :)
Hi Mirian B,
ReplyDeleteAppreciate you making the journey when you weren't well. As you know there'll be lots of other opportunities, both at my club and around London, so is best to rest when ill and save you strength for the long game. :)
When something hasn't yet reached a critical mass (like women in BJJ), I don't think it's discriminatory for an event to focus on solely that group until it has.
ReplyDeleteI guess you could sort of make a comparison to all-women shortlists in politics, as part of an effort to bolster the still distressingly low numbers of female MPs. Obviously lots of other issues involved in that particular example, but same goal: increase representation.
That's exactly where I'm coming from, slideyfoot, and concisely articulated (as ever!), but you know how reason can sometimes fall on deaf ears ;) Is heartening to know how much support we do have from the BJJ community :D
ReplyDeleteI agree with @slideyfoot It's support, not sexist, precisely because without that support the default is men only.
ReplyDeleteSlideyfoot wrote so much on women in BJJ that at first I thought he was a woman. *grin*
Thanks for reading, juliajohansen, is great to have your input :)
ReplyDeleteSlideyfoot wrote so much on women in BJJ that at first I thought he was a woman.
ReplyDeleteI think that ranks right up there as one of the nicest compliments I've ever had. ;)