Proud as Punch

I am a happy coach. Very happy indeed. Today I went along to the first Australian Girls in Gi female only competition held at Immersion MMA. It was a big day. Not just because comps usually are a "big" day- but more so because four of our Evolve MMA students participated in their first ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition. I am so proud of these girls! Where to begin...
Let's start with Sara. Although Sara has her judo experience she has only had about 6 actual bjj lessons and when it comes to hitting the ground there is a LOT to learn. But with Minol coaching from the sides Sara managed to win all her fights except one no Gi match and got a gold medal for her Gi category. Most of these fights were won by submission! Go Sara! She was also presented with a $100 voucher for a make over (whoohoo) for being an outstanding competitor. That's our girl! Classic was the look on her face when she was presented with this awesome prize. Yeah yeah!
Yussra. This girl is our newest student and has only been training a short time yet is a keen learner. Keen to learn and keen to compete. She started off well in her first match but slipped into a bad habit of giving her back! Nooooo! So we'll be learning from that hey Yaz! Just before she was up for her second fight Minol showed her a choke. This was SECONDS before her fight! Yussra goes to fight. Passes guard, mounts and puts on the choke Minol had just shown her and in just a few seconds her opponents goes to sleep! It was a bit of a scary experience for first timers but in the bjj world you get used to people getting put to sleep! But we are very impressed that Yussra pulled of the choke which she only learnt before her match!
Ally too put in an awesome effort. Only losing one fight in the no gi rounds, like Sara earned a gold medal in the gi category-(second in no gi but medals weren't awarded). It was great to see as Minol once again coached from the side Ally listening and following instructions to the tee and achieving results. Plus she was the prettiest competitor in the pretty in pink gi!
I'll have to say that the proud parent moment came when Eilish competed. This girl is only 14 years old. But she competed with the women and was matched up with older more experienced ladies. She started out brilliantly, but had a little hiccup- then despite that got back on the mat and fought again. She fought like a warrior. Lasting the whole time she managed to escape a number of armbar attempts- even when I thought at one stage she was going to tap- she fought on and never gave up. Yep. Proud moment.
As a coach it's exciting to see your students put into practice what they learn at training. As a coach it is exciting to see your students give it their all and never give up despite winning or losing. As a coach it is exciting to see the girls bonding as a team yet meeting new girls from other clubs with the same passion for bjj.
Was a good day indeed. I'm very proud of the girls and the way they took on their first BJJ comp! Congratulations to all the girls who competed- not just from Evolve. It takes guts to compete but no matter what it is the best experience and definitely plays a big part in seeing where you are at and the things you need to improve on AND the things that you are doing ok at! Whoo!
The end!

Hobart girls - new faces on the mats

The girls class in Hobart has always had a small but dedicated bunch of ladies who turn up each week. Recently we have welcomed Megan to the girls class. Megan has been bringing her kids Josh, 9, & Izzie, 5, to Thursday's kids class for quite a while now, and as we all know BJJ is infectious so it was only a matter of time before Megan joined in. By the way, big congrats to Josh and Izzie, who both received stripes this week! Today we welcomed another new face, Julie, who brought two of her boys (Oliver and Alex) to kids class for the first time on Thursday. With a 3rd son likely to join in after recovering from surgery it made very good sense for Julie to join in and learn how to defend herself against her boys! Ever-faithful team members Rach, Fiona and Jacinta trained today, along with Nic who has been AWOL recently due to work. Today was an excellent session focussing on knee-ride transitions and a couple of take-downs.

Tassie Comp

Good on Rach. Rach our smallest blue belt competed in the Tasmanian Championships in Launceston (and although was sick on the day put in a good effort!) And good on Bec! Bec came from Melbourne to compete! Unfortunately because of injuries/pregnancies/graduations our other blue belts couldn't participate. But we had a great cheer squad! I enjoyed screaming my guts out as other team mates competed! So proud of our team!! So Bec took home a gold in the open blue belt gi and Rach the silver!! And did I mention that with our powers combined EMWJJA took home a first place trophy? YAY!

Record

Saturday's class was a ripper. 8 girls on the mat (including myself and Carmen, a brown belt visiting). It was once again great to see these dedicated girls training!

Dedication

We had a great session today at Evolve MMA's female only class. It was good that Claire was able to join us (who because of work commitments and other factors can't make it regularly) but when she comes she loves it and loves trying new things and gives everything a go! It's also nice to have Yussra join the team. Very enthusiastic and is one of those people who gets hooked right from the start! We have Vela who comes every Saturday, keen to learn and oh so dedicated to getting things right! Bec has been a busy girl with work and flying back and forth to Bali (so jealous!!) but will always find her way back to the mats. And Ally, our young gun who seems to have all the energy in the world when training!! We were missing a few other students who have been training but because I was sick today, instead of rolling with the girls and spreading my germs I was able to spend some time watching them. What really impressed me though was when class had finished these girls went back to the mats. Some wanted to keep rolling. Others wanted to practice technique or drills. Vella conquered a head stand and a forward hip escape, and not to forget the cat manoeuvre! I just love seeing the dedication of these girls and it really makes me proud to be an instructor. Thanks girls for making my job so enjoyable!!

The BJJ girls of Thomastown.

Great to have some new faces starting up this week along with our regulars. Five girls on the mat (with a couple of regulars missing) was a good show! Well done to Ally who came even after getting smashed at paintball in the morning!

Saturday with the girls!

Saturday 2nd of June was a big day. First excitement of the day was actually arriving back in Tas. Second excitement of the day was grading Fiona who was then awarded her BLUE belt. Whoohoo to Fiona and big congratulations!! Then I showed the girls some techniques and did some rolling and then to top off Saturday's happenings we had our long awaited GIRLS NIGHT! It was the best! Just wish I had more time to spend with this great bunch who I like to call my BJJ sisters. Keep training hard ladies-see you all again soon! X

AGIG Camp II

What an awesome experience it was to be a part of the Australian Girls In Gi Camp number 2.  I was invited to give two seminars on the first day of the camp.  It was my first experience giving seminars but it was fabulous.  A bit like taking a class but MORE!  More people and more techniques!  The best part of being involved was meeting these wonderful women who all have in common their love of jiu-jitsu.  

Kid's Class

The EMWJJA team is made up of a pretty special bunch of people, who are all very loyal, passionate and dedicated to BJJ. This loyalty and dedication is not solely shown by the adults of the club, it is also very evident in the Kids Class. Every Thursday between 4 and 5pm Paul Sayers, the club's resident black belt in Hobart, takes the kids through warm ups, drills and techniques, followed by one-on-one rolling. This week, EMWJJA's head instructor Minol visited Hobart for the first time since he, Esther and the kids moved to Melbourne in January, and conducted a grading session for the kids class's most dedicated students. A big congratulations to Emma, Max and Arthur who undertook their Grey Belt exam - congratulations on your new belts guys! Jacoba also did a belt exam and was awarded her Yellow & Black Belt - congratulations Jacoba! Kaea, Ezra, Caleb and Jesse were also awarded a stripe each on their Yellow Belts. Well done everyone!

Back - Emma, Jacoba, Jesse, Kaea, Caleb, Ezra, Josh Front - Paul, Max, Jackie, Izzie, Luca, Arthur, Minol The next generation of BJJ Girls coming up through the ranks:

Kaea, Emma and Jacoba Keep up the good work kids!!

Update from Tas

This update has been a little while coming sorry, but the fabulous Tassie girls well and truly deserve a bit of recognition for the hard work they've been putting in at training this year.

Back in March, blue belt Jacinta received her second stripe, while Rachel, the current girl's trainer, received her first stripe on her blue belt. Fiona received her third stripe on her white belt, and is powering away on the path to blue belt.

Sam, another of our amazing Tassie girls, took a trip to Melbourne the weekend these stripes were given - but she didn't miss out, she received a second stripe on her blue belt during her visit with Esther and Minol!

The girls are planning a trip to Melbourne to train with Esther again - we can't wait!

March.

It has been an exciting month that's for sure.  I will get to the big GIG weekend later but the first excitement for the month was having Sam (and Jake) visit for the weekend (9th-11th), so Sam was able to come along to our girls class, whoo!  This is a before pic but Sam received another stripe on her belt so that must mean a lot of hard training in Tas!  (We'll hear soon about the rest of the Tassie lot hey Nic...)  Bec also received a stripe on her belt a couple of weeks ago.  Keep up the good work ladies!  

 Ally, Bec, Esther, Sam and Vela

TRIBOS

Time for a gi review... cos I have a new GI!  I'm always a bit sceptical of trying new gis.  Once you have been training for a while you get a bit picky about how a gi fits and feels when you are training, especially being a woman it's great to find a gi that fits your body (and is not baggy in the crotch).  I've been wearing mostly BULL TERRIER gis because they fit me well and are good quality.  But now I am excited to present to you TRIBOS FIGHT.  It's a relatively new brand and I am VERY happy with this gi.  Apart from the fact that it is a cool design (I am particularly liking the blue stripe up the pants), it fits good- and it's really light.  AND, the mens and kids gis are just as awesome (I really want one of the kids gis in my size!!)  I'm impressed with the quality so far too, no stitching coming apart after the first wash!  So, cool, cool, coolio.  I have a new gi.

Count down...

The TASSIE GANG!

This was our last photo shoot!  But surely not our last for real because I will see these girls again and no doubt when I do we will be posing away again for more pics.  We had a fun girls night before I left for Melbourne where Sam presented me with a very cool and thoughtful picture frame with a collage of photos from my time teaching the girls class in Tasmania.  A lot of cool memories and a lot of fun had with these girls.  I'm very lucky as they have become such good friends to me and have been so supportive especially with Estella's surgery last year.  Amazing individuals we make a pretty awesome team!  Looking forward to having them come stay for a girlie weekend getaway in Melbourne in the not too distant future.  

(left-right) Rach, Nicolle, Sam, Esther, Jacinta & Fiona

Esther's First Melbourne Class

First I was nervous that no one would show up... and then I was a little nervous that people WOULD show up... and then I was just excited to teach my first BJJ girls only class in Melbourne at EVOLVE MMA!  Thanks to these awesome ladies (and little ladies) for coming along to train!  It was a fun night and exciting to meet other women on their own BJJ journeys and particularly great to have Mary along for her first lesson and I hope this is just the beginning of a long journey for her!  The beginning is always exciting for me.  I look at how far the girls have come since my first girls only class in Tassie and I am so proud of where their training and hard work have got them.  Now that I'm here in Melbourne I'm looking forward to meeting more ladies and helping them (as much as I can) to learn, grow and progress in their training.