Given that you're probably wondering what the fuss is all about, I thought that I'd interview the girls involved and get their view on what's goining on.
First up, organiser Jess Fraser:
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Sunday August 28th we're holding Australia's first female only full day BJJ training session down in Melbourne. Calling it a 'Day Camp' simplifies the concept. It's essentially 3 seminars and a yoga session, all jiu jitsu focused.
The idea driving it is to bring all of the Aussie grappling girls together in a non competitive environment for the first time and raise our profile generally within the wider community and the sport. In Victoria I've been getting girls from all different clubs together for open doors training every 6 weeks or so since late last year.
From the outset it was successful. We've been having a great time and learning heaps. After the last one I felt like these girls deserved something even bigger, better; something they could look forward to and get excited about, something that was worth girls travelling from interstate for, that wasn't competing.
What's the idea behind making it FEMALE ONLY?
Girls in BJJ learn so much training with guys (the quality of our defensive games being a real testament to this) but when you get the chance to train with other women you get to test all of the aspects of your game under the pressure of relative strength, speed and size. Personally and unfortunately I can never be 100% sure if guys are 'holding back', 'going easy' or 'muscling' through our rolls.
One way for me to be completely certain of where my skill set is at is to roll with other women. It leaves no room to doubt my own abilities or, conversely, make excuses for the gaps in my game. I find this realistic gauge invaluable. I think the girls do too. I've lost count of the times I've heard "I can actually do this stuff" from girls after a female only session.
They might not be getting a certain sweep on a 90kg dude but they get it on me... it's a rewarding thing to have happen.
I decided to create a female only event as I wanted the opportunity to train with other women, under female instruction; something most of us in this country have never done before. Over the ‘net we are all seeing what the girls are attending and offering overseas - week long camps, training with black belts, seminars etc. My dream is to see us able to offer the same thing in the future. Starting with a day camp showcasing Australia's best female grapplers is the first step. Getting all of the top medaling fighters to attend was the second. So far it's going perfectly to plan.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your training background, comp experience and goals?
My 'fighting career' started with Krav Maga in 2006. I trained a lot & ended up instructing for a few years. People assume that Krav Maga helped me with my BJJ game. I think it did with mental fortitude but as far as the physical…. Wow. If you could explain Krav Maga in simple terms, it’s basically the exact opposite of competition BJJ. Krav Maga was great for me at the time but I'm a competitive bitch and there aint no competition that lets you smash other people in the nuts with a gun...so I had to find something else.
During those years I got hooked on watching MMA & wanted to train UFC bad, like so bad.
Day one on the mats followed very quickly with a panic attack, shit loads of bruises and two bottles of comfort red....I figured my ground game would need to be a fair bit better if I wanted to get into MMA. And with that I promised myself 18 months dedicated BJJ training from that point, with a view to get striking later on.
October this year sees me hit that 18month point and I can't see myself making the switch at this stage. I fell truly madly in love with Jiu Jitsu, like bad, so bad.
As far as competition goes, I've competed nonstop since my first which was Pan Pacs in November 2010. I took out 3 gold and a silver... it was almost the perfect outcome (damn that Laura Ng!). I came runner up at the ADCC Trials this year (again with the Ng!). Fought at the Abu Dhabi Trials (Ng!!). I fought in the men’s division at the SA Champs (which was awesome fun even though I lost). I took a few gold at the AUS Classic a few months back (which was huge for me as it was blue and purple in together). I also received the trophy for Most Technical Female Fighter at this year’s VICS. Currently I'm the 4x division blue female champ at both State and National levels.
My current immediate goal is to take out all four division out at the Pan Pacs in September but I know the sharks in my tank for that one and it wouldn't be an easy task by any means. I know they want it too.
I’ve seen what some of the other the girls are doing this year in prep already and it’s both intimidating and inspiring. The women’s blue belt divisions will be fun to watch this year.
What do you think about Australian women's BJJ at the moment?
Australian Women’s BJJ is growing. That’s just fact. And fast too. I see new faces at every comp I turn up at, blues, purples, browns. It’s fantastic to see. There’s more and more of us every month that are hitting the mats and it’s not just quantity that is growing, the quality is fast improving too.
As part of my field research for the Day Camp I’ve been travelling across the country & finding more and more women that are rolling. I’ve been emailing nonstop and accessing girls through social media sites. It’s a huge eye opener. When I first started BJJ I thought we were a tiny community, from what I’ve seen recently we are actually out there and in good numbers. I just want to get us all together under one roof. Can you imagine? It’s too exciting for words.
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