Townsville Peeps

Last week Minol and I spent 5 days in Townsville training with Phil and his students.  It was great to meet everyone especially Elise who received her first stripe!  Congratulations!  Even though she was the only female training she goes just as hard and is just as keen to learn and train. Plus she's an awesome chick!

Hobart Girls!

It's great seeing pics of our small but solid female class in Hobart! Hope to see you again soon ladies!

lessons

If I had messaged a fellow competitor and told them not to bother registering for a comp because I wasn't able to due to injury I would not then message them when the registration had ended and tell them I was going to compete anyway.  But that's just me.

This weekend I have learnt some important lessons.

1.  You can't trust people's words or morals.  

In this world I have realised that what I believe to be the "right" thing to do doesn't apply to others.  People have their own lives and dreams and a lot of the time that will take precedent over other peoples feelings or desires.

2.  I love pure Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. 

 Before moving to Melbourne I was a black belt.  The second Australian woman to receive a black belt ever.  The only woman in Australia to have a black belt.  But no one knew.  No one really cared.  And I was happy.  I trained.  And I was happy.  When word got out that I was the ONLY female black belt in Australia it got exciting.  I wasn't the first Australian woman to get a black belt but I was the only Australian woman living in Australia to have a black belt.  Then another female got her black belt.  And it was the news of the century.  The FIRST woman to get her black belt IN Australia even though she is from Germany (I received my black belt from Master Wilson when I was visiting Brazil on March 17th 2011).  Then even bigger and better, yet another woman received her black belt.  Not only did she receive her black belt in Australia but she is Australian. 
This is the hype that I listened to for a while.  Girls talk.  Girls have opinions about everything under the sun... and above it!  So since moving to Melbourne there has been a lot of hype and from that I have felt a lot of pressure as a black belt to perform.  I absolutely loved competing when I started BJJ.  I participated at the Pan Pacs as a novice and blue belt and fought in the first Australia Cup and won both weight and open weight division.  I fought in the Rio State Open as a purple belt and won.  As nervous as I get about competing I loved it.  I loved challenging myself in that way.  Win or lose there was always something to learn.  But since getting my black belt I've felt the pressure and I've realised that it's the pressure I put on myself.  I don't need to listen to anyone else or their opinions.  I don't need to be the best for anyone else.
I love pure BJJ.  I love training.  I love competing.  So I need to stop listening or worrying what anyone else might think or say and just do what I love.  

3.  BJJ is not my life.

I was so upset and disappointed when after looking forward for so long to competing at the Pan Pacs I found out that I in fact wouldn't be able to.  I cried.  I was so excited to be the first female black belt fight in Australia.  I was trying to make my trainings good sessions.  Then it crashed and I was shattered.  Minol expected me to go along on Friday for the first day of the Pan Pacs but I was too upset, I knew if I went I would just be wishing it was me there competing.  So I stayed home.  The sun was out so I took the kids to Bunnings and we got some pots and flowers (and strawberries).  Then went to the park.  Then I shouted the kids to good ol' Maccas.  Then went home to plant our flowers.  And I felt happy.  When it comes down to it I know everyone talks about BJJ as a lifestyle but for me BJJ is something I love and enjoy but I wouldn't call it a lifestyle.  Pure BJJ maybe- but when there are politics and egos and so much more crap that goes along with it I prefer to separate that from my lifestyle.  My family and their happiness is what is important to me.  Helping my children become caring, nurturing, kind, considerate, thoughtful, spirited children who become caring, nurturing, kind, considerate, thoughtful, spirited teens who then become caring, nurturing, kind, considerate, thoughtful, spirited adults is my priority in life.  If they can enjoy training and competing as much as I do along the way then that is wonderful.

4.  Disappointments will not stop me, but will make me stronger.

Best advice for me this weekend was from my husband.  He simply said to keep training.  And that is what I will do.  Other opportunities will come up.  I am still determined to compete again.  But I am even more determined to train.  And to train hard.

Short but Sweet

Saturday 17th of August. A day I had been looking forward to for over a month since I booked flights! Back to Hobart for a short but very sweet visit and training with the girls! Whenever I'm back in Hobart it's as if I never left! Except this trip I had an extra little bundle with me! Saturday was also Polly's 4 month old mark! We started the day with brunch and some chit chat. Almost didn't make it due to little boy tooth ache and emergency dental appointment! But it was great to finally meet up with the girls again and to meet a couple of new faces! And when I say new I mean new! Alex and Gemma had only been to a handful of classes. So we then headed to the PCYC to TRAIN!! I wanted to get a lot of rolling in with the girls to get a good idea of where they are at so we rolled, then went through some techniques, and back for some more rolling to finish the day! I was really impressed with Jacinta, Rach and Fiona our blue beltas. It was good to see the improvements each has made. Rach who has always been very technical has become much tighter. Jacinta's grips are amazing! And I'm sure Fiona has gotten even stronger!   Kobe and Kaea have grown heaps and are now ready to give us "older" girl a run, so great to have them training with us! Unfortunately we didn't get happy snaps with Gemma and Alex but hopefully I didn't scare them off and they keep up the training!!  Thank you to the Tassie girls for having me!! Miss you all heaps and can't wait for another trip! Such crazies! 

Along Came Polly

Introducing Polly. The latest little jiu-jitsu girl. She arrived on the 17th of April. Mummy is excited to have finally welcomed her into the world and of course is just as excited to be able to train again without hinderance hehe.

BJJ BABY

This post is a little late but welcome Charlotte to the BJJ family!! She is just gorgeous! Congratulations to beautiful Sammy and Jake- there is no nope for this little one when both mummy and daddy train Jiu-Jitsu!

Hobart Girls Open Mat

Welcome Amy and Kalo! Good to see new faces getting in on some BJJ action! Hope there wasn't too much chatter during the Hobart Girls Open Mat... (I'm sure they trained their little butts off!) It's also great to see Kaea and Jacoba mixing it with the "older" girls! Hope they aren't beating you up too much Rach!

Following the rules.

Thoughts. With the new IBJJF rules for 2013 I have a few thoughts on the subject of rules.
Question: Would you play basketball, football or any other sport without knowing the rules first?
Some clubs who train Brazilian Jiu-jitsu may not have anything to do with the international federation but when you compete in a competition run by the IBJJF or a competition which claims they are "following IBJJF rules" I think it is important to know the rules and be prepared to follow them. When I say rules I'm not just referring to what you can and can't do during a competition match. There are also rules about gradings (ie how long a student should spend on each belt colour), about high ranked or professional fighters from other disciplines (ie Judo Black Belts, professional wrestlers) fighting in BJJ comps, also who can actually grade students, etc.
Having started my BJJ life in a club where a high standard of etiquette and discipline have been maintained, I've been very lucky to have a coach who is aware and follows and relays these rules and expectations to his students. He keeps up to date with the international rules but not only that- if he has a query or needs something clarified he seeks answers. Since moving to a place with a bigger BJJ scene I've become too aware that there are many clubs and places where you can train BJJ, but I wonder how many of these places actually follow international federation rules. Do people who compete in international federation competitions follow international federation rules? To some people the rules aren't a big deal, because at the end of the day it's all about "having fun". For me I took up Jiu-jitsu because it was fun. I stick at it because I still think its fun. But. As hard as it is to enforce rules, I can see the importance of following a universal set of rules. Particularly in the bigger scheme of things such as working towards having Brazilian Jiu-jitsu included in the Olympic Games.

Going home.

Words can't explain the feeling of being back in Tas and training with this bunch and just spending time with them. Although I would have absolutely loved to roll with each of them (I did sneak in a roll with Rach- totally unfair for her as I could use my big baby belly against her!!) it was great being at training with them and being able to not only offer advice but to actually have time to observe them and see where they are at. I just wish I had more time to spend with them!! It was great to see the girls absolutely pushing themselves at the last training while I was there- keep it up!! Also great to witness Jacinta receive another stripe.
We also enjoyed some non training time catching up over a scrummy breakfast and at Sam's baby shower (whoo she's having a girl she can put to training!!) and some nice beach time!
I'm hoping once this baby is born ill be able to return more regularly for some quality training!!

Bub in the Belly and BJJ

I once read an interview of a fellow female BJJ practitioner where it was stated that her biggest fear was that of getting injured or pregnant.  No offense to this person as I know where she was coming from but it made me laugh.  After having two children and a third on the way (I am now 26 weeks pregnant), for me there is no comparison between an injury and the joy of bringing a child into the world.  But that is not the inspiration for this post.  

It was actually last year that I was contacted by a woman asking advice on training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu whilst pregnant as she was at the time about 12 weeks with her first child.  (I had met her at a BJJ camp earlier on in the year and during some discussion between the girls the topic of being pregnant and training had popped up).  Around the same time a student of mine in Hobart announced her pregnancy, and not long after I got pregnant with my third, and since then two more female students have announced pregnancies (yep, it's catching!)!  So with all these babies growing I thought this is the perfect time to post on training and being pregnant.  This is totally my own perspective and I'll start by sharing what I had to say in reply to the first email I received after being asked for advice.

The BIGGEST advice I can give to you is to listen to your body. I can't tell you what you should do but I'll tell you what I did with both my pregnancies (or if I was ever pregnant again) and what I think about being pregnant and training and I'll try and answer all your questions. You must be hitting the second trimester where you feel energetic. I remember getting the morning (all day) sickness but as soon as that passed I was rearing to train! For me I trained normally up until I was too big to move. I would do all the warm ups and drills (except ones that would apply pressure to my belly, which I got away with doing most), I would practice techniques (when I started to pop these became limited) and I would ONLY roll with my black belt instructor who happened to be my husband (hehe) and there was another girl who I would roll with and maybe a couple of the higher belts who would roll lightly with me. Because I was a purple belt when I was first pregnant it was easy for me to roll with the other female student because I could use much more technique with her and didn't have to use strength/force. I found it "safe" to roll but I wouldn't roll with just anyone especially not white belt guys!! Any pressure directly on your abdomen probably isn't a good idea. Technique drilling for me was totally fine, even with a heavy partner so long as they aren't putting pressure on your belly. It's only when you get much bigger that lying on your back would get uncomfortable more than anything! Have you talked to your instructor about being pregnant and training? I can't speak for anyone else but having been through that myself and not wanting to give up training for 9 months I would be happy to train with you and for you to come along to my girls only classes. I was in Tassie last month and one of my students there announced that she was pregnant (I had a nice roll with her!!) but I give her the same advice. Listen to your body, train how you trained before you got pregnant but modify certain aspects to accomodate your growing baby. I never once felt that I put my children at risk, I never felt unsafe training, but all along I only did what I felt I could and made sure I trained WITH people who I could trust and felt safe with. As your pregnancy progresses too you'll start slowing down and there are things that you just won't be able to do! I remember getting to the point when I could hardly run with my big belly and realised that it was time to stop! It's tricky too with being pregnant because you can't expect people to want to train with you! My husband was really protective during my first pregnancy and didn't want me to train to begin with but I really wanted to keep training (and was quite lucky that with my first pregnancy I didn't start popping out until after 5 months) so I was able to train longer without getting too uncomfortable. 

After another email from this woman I then replied...

Look, it's a really tough time being pregnant. I look back and think oh yeah everything was fine for me- I had no problems training. I had read too that it was very healthy to exercise -that if you ran before you were pregnant you should keep it up etc etc. But I know that if something had happened- if I had miscarried- I would be devastated. Its natural to worry particularly when miscarriages happen even if you are not training or exercising!! (ah can't believe you missed out on the morning sickness by the way- haha, that's so awesome!!) So anyway, I hope you work out a good system to train (roll) and feel safe at the same time because even though exercise may be good, worrying over things isn't!

Everyone is different.  In the end this woman decided it was best for her to give up training until her baby was born and then get back into it.  It's much better to have peace of mind rather than worrying over how safe it is to train.  For my friend in Hobart she too began by participating in the warm ups and techniques but in the end gave up training but would still come and watch which I think is great to keep your head in the game.  

For me it is a challenge being pregnant, to give up serious training and competing.  This time around I had hurt my back early on (think I had strained it from the throwing up!!) so that limited my training even more than usual.  But once my back had recovered I was able to train again but would and still do listen to my body.  I am lucky that I am in the circumstance where I have been teaching classes too so even though I can't train to the fullest I can still instruct the girls.  And before I know it I will be back to my fullest on the mats but with a newbie baby in tow.  Unlike an injury, at the end of pregnancy there is something much much better at the end.  As much as this is a post on how I feel about being pregnant and training, I also emphasise that no matter what your choice is whether to keep training when your pregnant or not- the fact is that for me whether it is a lot of training or a little bit of training that I have had to give up- it is all worth it- even if you have goals you want to achieve, whether it be comp-wise or belt-wise, these can still be achieved in the end.

 At "FIGHT FOR LIFE" (raising money for cancer), where I took two sessions (16 weeks pregnant)

Training with Master Wilson and Fernando @ 16 weeks pregnant (had to make the most of being able to roll with Fernando the little machine while they were visiting from Brazil)

Training with the girls in Tassie @24 weeks pregnant (at this stage only rolling with Minol & I did have a roll with Rach- yep picking on the little one).

And these children (below) are what makes the small sacrifice all worth it.