bjjfights

Wow. I'm embarrassed I haven't posted in such a long time. Working. Training when I can. Being a wife and mom. I still love jiu jitsu, but I've found myself in a situation where I have to work longer hours and I've let it take over.  I am in desperate need of mat therapy. I need jiu jitsu on a regular basis. It calms me. Keeps me centered. Looking for a way to shift my schedule at work to allow me to have a life. Pray for me. I need jiu jitsu. That is all folks. Wishing you all peace, love and 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 want to start by saying thank you to my coach Vincent Serrano for allowing me the opportunity to do this interview.  I've known Vincent for several years now and as fate would have it he's now my instructor at Dirty Bay MMA.  I knew early on after meeting Vincent and watching him on the mats that he had a gift for teaching. But, you have to see it and experience it to know what I am talking about. Vincent can be a hard task master.  He doesn't see your age or what you might believe to be your physical limitations.  He will push you beyond your limits at times.  He will expect you to give him just a little bit more than you think you can give.  Even if you don't believe in your abilities, Vincent sees beyond that.  He sees what he knows you can become.  I am proud to call him my coach, my instructor, my friend.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  Thank you Vincent! Meet Vincent Serrano.   Vincent is a Brown Belt and the ...

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...

I don’t talk too much about my Muay Thai training.   She’s more like a good friend, while jiu jitsu is my true love.   But, I have to say that after a good solid year of training under Vincent Serrano I do know that I have made progress.   I never was hoping for huge improvement, I do Muay Thai for fun.   Well, because let’s face it, it is fun to punch and kick and knee and elbow people.   It’s a lot of fun.   I was really nervous about a full on Muay Thai class.   I’d only done cardio kickboxing before.   Very safe, impersonal even.   But Muay Thai, it’s face to face, in your face, in your space, people kicking you and coming very near close to punching you in the face, and actually punching you in the body.   Way outside my comfort zone.   But, I love Vincent’s teaching style, and I decided from day one that if anyone could help me improve it would be him.   He’s got the patience of ten thousand teachers!   So last night...

My coach Roy Davis said something to me once.   It was a fairly innocent comment during training, when I was second guessing whether I could ever do something.   He said, “Anything is possible”.   I don’t think he realized the impact that tiny little statement had on me.   Anything is possible.   Three little words.   I took those words to heart.   Those words became a catalyst, a spark.   Three tiny little words that I needed to hear at that exact moment in my jiu jitsu journey to keep me moving forward on my path.   Recently I dropped in on a class at one of our affiliate schools.   I’ve been working late a lot lately and I couldn’t make it to my school.   I had the pleasure of working with the instructor.   At one point he said, “Why do things harder, when you can do them smarter”.   I almost laughed out loud when he said it.   Why?   My husband has been telling me and my kids that for as long as I can remembe...