Grappling grandma says women can be fit at any age

 

Women’s jiu jitsu is available at Team Link in Northampton, Ma.

http://www.TeamLinkNoho.com or 413.584.5465 for more info

30 DAY FREE TRIAL PROGRAM AVAILABLE

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By Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian cbillhartz@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8114  from STLtoday.com

Susie Wyatt is a single mother of four children and a grandmother. She works as a massage therapist, physical education instructor at Washington University and as group exercise instructor at St. Louis Workout in the Central West End.

She has her white belt with four stripes in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Her next step will be a blue belt, though she competed against a blue belt in a local tournament recently. Many of the members of the Brazilian jiu jitsu classes at Finney’s travel as a team to tournaments, and Wyatt, 47, of St. Louis, is the only woman on that team.

She knows that combat sports aren’t for everyone but believes that she’s a prime example that women can be ultra-fit and competitive at any age.

 

 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Compensating for Strength against a bigger opponent

Women’s jiu jitsu is available at Team Link in Northampton, Ma.

http://www.TeamLinkNoho.com or 413.584.5465 for more info

30 DAY FREE TRIAL PROGRAM AVAILABLE

____________________________________________

One of the most vulnerable positions a woman can find herself in is flat on her back with her opponent attacking from on top of her. In a street fight situation, this is not just vulnerable, it’s dangerous to the point it could be life-threatening.

 

Stephen Kesting explains how women or smaller people can survive tough positions and work out of them. In the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

 You’ll learn the right techniques and strategies to use if you find yourself pinned on the bottom. You may be temporarily down but definitely not out; these are the best ways to survive the smother, escape the pin, and get back into the game!
Learning how to make space and get things moving again when someone is 100% determined to pin you flat to the mat is the ‘secret sauce’ that allows smaller, weaker grapplers to stay in the game when they’re wrestling with a big hormone-endowed Sasquatch.

Every technique is taught with an emphasis on safety.  As a smaller grappler you have to be careful not to get injured inadvertently when your bigger partner moves explodes in an unpredictable attempt to blast your technique.

 

Why Women Can Excel in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Women’s jiu jitsu is available at Team Link in Northampton, Ma.

http://www.TeamLinkNoho.com or 413.584.5465 for more info

30 DAY FREE TRIAL PROGRAM AVAILABLE

____________________________________________

BJJ is a martial art that was developed by Buddist monks centuries ago as a form of self-defense. With the Buddist core belief centered in doing no harm, jiu jitsu uses techniques of leverage and holds that allow a person to defend one’s self without hitting, punching, or kicking. Most of the throws that would take an opponent from a standing position to their back on the ground also use the opponent’s weight and movement against them. It doesn’t matter how strong or what size you are. The techniques of BJJ are designed to help a smaller, weaker person stay safe against even a much larger, stronger opponent.

 

In a short time, anyone can learn enough to start giving more experienced jiu jitsu students a challenge. BJJ has basic principles and movements that use leverage instead of strength.  Even in professional MMA fights, it’s usually the basic chokes and armbars we learn in our first weeks that finish the fights. The fun part is- there are probably hundreds of ways to catch your opponent in an armbar. Your skills build on the basic movements learned at the start; and the fun part is that there’s no end to the variations- there’s always something new to learn or try.

 

If you’re looking for something that’s effective immediately, but will consistently challenge you, BJJ is a great choice.

A story of how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can help women.

Women’s jiu jitsu is available at Team Link in Northampton, Ma.

http://www.TeamLinkNoho.com or 413.584.5465 for more info

30 DAY FREE TRIAL PROGRAM AVAILABLE

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Self-defense, strength, conditioning, or just to try something new; the reasons we stepped on the mat for the first time are as varied as we are as individuals. Some of us might even be afraid to admit the real reasons we started training, but we are proud of the reasons we keep coming back. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art. It is also an equalizer.

The mat becomes a place we, as women, can throw all of who we are into what we do. We can be as strong as we are and fight with all we have in us and it’s safe, acceptable, and even encouraged. There are few places in the rest of society where a woman is allowed to be as strong and fight as hard as a man, against a man, without being diminished.

I think it says as much about the men who share the mat with us as it does about us that we have this place where our determination is accepted. We may sometimes face male opponents who are more concerned with winning than learning. When a guy who is over ten years younger, half a foot taller, and much heavier than me says, “I have to use my size and muscle against you, you’re techniques is better.” That’s a compliment to me and my coaches because on the mat he sees me as a challenge when we roll. I like that. And I like that every other woman I train with feels the same way.

The men at most BJJ schools far outnumber the women; but they expect nothing less, and treat us no differently than any student or teammate, no matter our age, size, or ability. We are, after all, a team. I’m grateful for my teammates; they’re not just amazing martial artists, they make me want to push myself harder and show them that I care about what they’ve taught me. And I’m grateful I have a place I can face my fears and challenge myself every time I step on the mat.

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