For any newcomer to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it can be a tough entry into martial arts and a wakeup call into how unfit or bad at fighting you are. However, for those who are physically smaller or weaker – it is even more so. With this said, starting BJJ as a woman is much harder than starting as a man. On average men weigh over 30 pounds more than women – but are also stronger pound for pound. With this said, starting out as a woman is not easy, and even once established being a girl in BJJ can still be hard.
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Being a woman in BJJ can be lonely
Women are naturally less common in most BJJ gyms. Typically for every one woman, you may have eight or nine men in some cases. Because of this, if you’re female – you may be the woman in the class. Whilst this isn’t a problem in modern society, sometimes it’s nice to talk to people of the same gender. With regard to this, being new can be especially daunting if you’re a new woman.
Some people may avoid rolling with you as well if they deem you as too small or a waste of time. Whilst this is a bad attitude to have, it is also sadly a realistic attitude that is adopted by some men whilst training. To get over this, you just keep having to turn up and have a good attitude to training. This goes for all new white belts but eventually, people will start to pay attention and befriend you.
Some men will be intimidated by your skills
As your technique develops, most people will be happy to see new students continue and improve. However, newer beginners may see you as a threat to their ego. For instance, if you can tap out a person who has over 15KG on you – they may feel embarrassed. Instead of using this opportunity to embrace the skills of BJJ, some people go the other way.
This means spazzing out and trying to dominate you whilst rolling. Overall, this is not ok and although it’s not illegal, it is frowned upon. If this continues to happen then you can ask a senior grappler for advice or avoid sparring them. In brief, some men just don’t care about their physical benefits and will take advantage. In some cases, these beginners can end up getting smashed by higher belts to teach them a lesson. Whilst this behavior is uncommon, sadly it does happen.
Finding a game to suit you
Being physically smaller is a natural disadvantage – but it should put you off. For instance, there are lots of smaller grapplers who can beat bigger opponents. This can be seen in competitions with Absolute categories, where sometimes smaller people beat heavyweights. Being smaller will force you into being more technical. You can’t lazily rely on strength and try to muscle certain moves on the opponent. Instead, you will have to develop skills and hone your craft.
Typically this will involve lots of pulling guard and trying to move around the opponent rather than moving them. With submissions, things like Americana’s may be too difficult, but chokes from the back are less strength based. In brief, finding a game takes years in most cases – but if you stick it out long enough then your BJJ will start to pay dividends.
Women’s only classes
These days, most gyms offer women’s only classes, especially larger schools. This is a good way to train with other women of different belt ranks and backgrounds. Typically these are taught by a higher belt woman so if you’re uncomfortable rolling with men then this may be an option for you. As mentioned earlier, rolling against men often requires patience against strength.
However, this isn’t the case in these classes. Here, your size probably won’t matter and it won’t be such a difference. This is a good way of seeing you good your technique is. Against people far stronger you may get discouraged, but against other women it will be more obvious if your moves work or fail – and the reasons behind this.
Self defense for women
A large reason why many start BJJ is for the self-defense aspect. Because of this, it’s a good way to learn how to defend yourself. This goes for all genders and if you’re a woman then BJJ is probably easier to use in a self defense situation compared to striking martial arts.
For instance, if a man drags you to the floor and you’re untrained then they may pin you. However, with training you can learn pin escapes and recover to a guard position with less of a struggle involved. Because of this, women’s self defense is often commonly associated with women training BJJ and is a good strategy if ever you get attacked.
Becoming a role model for other women
If you train for long enough, then eventually you may earn a senior belt such as brown or black belt. These belts are hard to gain, so there are not as many women with these ranks compared to men. Because of this, if you do achieve this rank then you may become something of a role model for newer female students. If this is the case, you may even start teaching one day as well.
In doing this, you can positively affect your own community and give back to the sport. Ultimately, this is what BJJ is about for many and you go full circle from beginner to veteran. In teaching women the empowering benefits that BJJ brings you should have a sense of pride in your role at the gym. Of course, being a teacher isn’t for everyone – but it’s also a good way to make money on the side.
Summary
Being a new woman in BJJ is not always easy. However, one of the main themes of this article has been that in time, things become easier and will start to click. Whilst this idea can be applied to all those who begin BJJ – it is more specific to women as it’s seen as physically tougher due to the size difference. With that said, you shouldn’t let differences in size and strength put you off and in time BJJ will become easier and possibly more enjoyable as a result.
