bjjfights

When I was a little girl I'd often think about what will it be like when I am old. I used to think 30 was old. Then 40. But now 50 seems pretty young to me. I knew that in 2017 I'd turn 50. As a kid that seemed so far away. A million miles away. Little did I know. 2017 is here people. And this year I will turn 50. While I'm not making lists or resolutions or looking for some profound life event, I am in search of joy, peace and happiness. Love I already have. But those other things can be a little bit trickier. So this year I'm just trying to do what makes me happy. Hold on to those things that bring me joy. Hide away in my heart those things that give me peace. Like always. Those are the things I wish for each of you. May 2017 bring you peace, love and beautiful, happy and joyful Jiu Jitsu. 

I have been feeling horrible lately. Feels like my body is betraying me.  Chronic joint pain. Pinched nerves in my neck giving me grief. Shoulder, well we won't speak of it.  What's an old gal to do?  Go train. Stay home and rest. Go and watch. Hmmmm.  It's a tough one for me. Last week I opted out. Now I'm thinking that was a mistake because I feel worse. So tonight I will dust off my pride and suck it up and go train. I know there is not a magic pill that will make all my aches and pains go away. Jiu jitsu has helped me survive the last 5 plus years. I fear that had I not started training I would have just given in to the pain. Jiu jitsu saved me. That's the thing I have to cling to. It's grace keeps me from ever going back to that girl I was before. Peace. Love. Beautiful Jiu Jitsu. 

Ever since I entered the martial arts world, I’ve found myself intrigued by those brave souls that decide to fight in the cage.   They seek out the octagon.   They crave it.   They want to step in there more than anything else.   I am fascinated by what drives these fighters.   What makes them tick?   What makes them want to get in that cage?   I love to interview people, so when I found out that Casey Jones was going to be coming over to Dirty Bay MMA and training his stand-up game, I knew that I was going to ask him for an interview.   I am so thankful that he agreed.   It has really been an honor to watch him go through this process.   To Casey I would like to say, “You are a warrior, you have fought the good fight, you have trained well, you have prepared yourself for battle and you have already won.   I am proud to call you my jiu jitsu brother.”   I asked his Coach at Iron Dragon to give Casey a shout out, and here’s what...

Sometimes, it’s nice to be reminded about the beginning of the journey.   I am always excited when I meet someone so new to the sport that they are just glowing with excitement and anticipation.   They look at you with eyes shining.   They can’t wait to roll with you and test themselves and learn from you.    I am not the most athletic chick on the mat.   Not the most coordinated.   Not the most fit.   Not the one people ask for help.   But last weekend I got to train with some really cool newbies at Girls in Gis.   It was a privilege to train with them.   To show them what little knowledge I have about jiu jitsu.   They reminded me of a time not too long ago when my belt was fresh and white and clean.   They reminded me of a   time when my white belt had an empty black bar and was devoid of dirt and blood and sweat and tears.   I left that event with a full heart, smiling, happy, knowing that I had helped someon...

I love the fact that my daughter and I train together. I affectionately nicknamed her Tasmanian Devil Girl on the mats. We have been blessed with some of our best memories because of jiu jitsu. Training together and going to seminars and attending Girls in Gis events and our Team SMAA open mats has given us countless hours of bonding time. Jiu jitsu allows us to push each other, talk to each other openly and support each other. I love that. The thing that I don’t love is watching her struggle. Lately I’ve been watching her feel defeated and broken. I feel helpless not being able to help her. Not having the right words to say to comfort her. It’s hard being a Mom sometimes. I want to protect her from everything bad in this world. On the mats I want to protect her too. I don’t want her to get hurt emotionally or physically. So, it’s a fine line we walk as jiu jitsu Moms. How do we let go enough to let them grow, but still protect them when we need to? I guess we will figure it out togeth...

Lots of cool things going on.  My affiliate school, Solis Martial Arts Academy, launched a new women's only jiu jitsu class yesterday.  It's going to be every Tuesday and Thursday.  Might pop in a couple times a month (or more, it was really fun).  There were about 17 women there last night.  I had the pleasure of working with someone who was trying jiu jitsu for the very first time.  That was extremely cool.  Our school, Dirty Bay MMA,  is having a women's only Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai seminar on Saturday.  Our hope is to expose women to these two martial arts and show them that there's nothing scary or intimidating about training, and that it can be great fun and a great workout.  Sunday is Girls in Gis in San Antonio.  I can't wait to train and visit with all my jiu jitsu sisters.  So what's going on with all of you?  Wishing you peace, love and great jiu jitsu! :)

I started writing this almost a year ago.   I just could not bring myself to post it.   It is very personal.   Then the rape of the young woman on New Year’s Eve happened…and it rocked the jiu jitsu community.   I still waited.   Today I decided I needed to release this burden.   Here goes…this is for my sister. I share a lot about myself and my family on this blog, but something that most of you probably don’t know is that I had an older sister.   Her name was Melissa.   She was four years older than me.   When I was little I would follow her around and hang on to her every word, and if she asked me to do something (even if I knew it probably wasn’t a good idea) I did it anyway, she was my big sister after all.   We rocked along like this for a while until the little sisters came along and she didn’t really want to play with me anymore, she was four years older than me after all.   But, I have really good memories of her and me as ...

You might be wondering where Mrs. Ibarra has been for the last month.   I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, just extremely busy.   Work has decided to go a little crazy on me, but I’m trying not to let it affect my training like I usually do.   I’ve got to keep my perspective and keep things balanced.   So, on the jiu jitsu front, I went to another Hannette Staack seminar in San Antonio.   It was just as good as the first one.   This time around we worked on deep half guard.   I love half guard, but still trying to wrap my head around deep half guard.   I know you can make anything work for your body type in jiu jitsu; you just have to play with it until you get it right.   I’m going to have to play with this one a bit more to find the right fit.   And that folks is one of the reasons why I love jiu jitsu.     Saw some really great news today – Hannette Staack and Fenom Kimonos Announce Pro-Partnership.   Check it ...

This week we are back at our routine...me and Tasmanian Devil Girl.  Truthfully, she's more tired and sore than me, probably because she skipped out on one too many classes during the holidays and I didn't.  I've jumped back in full throttle with my Paleo eating...I sort of derailed myself during the holidays.  I also hit a major milestone this week, six whole months without a Dr. Pepper.  Now that's something I thought I'd never say!  I do have a confession to make, I've been cheating on my acupuncturist with the chiropractor.  I have to say that both are great for repairing all the damage I do to my neck and shoulder sitting at a desk all day...yes I said it...sitting at a desk all day.  As rough and tumble as Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu are, sitting at a desk all day not moving is way more damaging to your body.  So, this new chiropractor is giving me tons and tons of good stretching exercises to do.  It's all great stuff, who knew the things ...