Elaine Wynn is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner with a unique story. She started the gentle art at the age of 69 years old. This is how her story began in her own words “I’m from Calera, Alabama, just south of Birmingham. I was 69 when I started Jiu Jitsu. When I was 21, I took six Judo classes while my husband was in school. When we went back to our home town, no one taught Judo. I was 69 when I found out a local gym taught it, so I started Judo first. My professor wanted me to try Jiu Jitsu, so I did”. She currently trains at Gracie Barra Alabama under professor Kaliffa Oliveira who owns the gym and teaches both Judo and Jiujitsu, being a black belt in both arts.
Wynn was 70 when I got she got her blue belt, we asked her about her favorite positions whilst training – she added “I certainly prefer to be on top of my opponent. I don’t do sweeps well, except from a standing position: a judo sweep. I don’t have a favorite [submission], really, I like chokes best. They usually work best for me.”
Wynn is certainly as tough as anyone else on this planet – and don’t let her age fool you, it seems her background in farming has developed her mental toughness as we asked about her biggest injury and she said “I got a hematoma on my shin in Judo class. It had to be surgically removed. I have a back injury at the moment from working on my farm.”
Regarding her training, she also stated: “I just want to train as long as I physically can. I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. I’m in class 2 to 3 hours a week. We roll hard about 15 minutes at the end of classes. I roll the same as everyone else. At times, I might sit out one and catch my breath. I like fighting. It’s why I do Jiu Jitsu. Some rolling partners are teenage boys and some are grown men, as well as any girls in class. I’m not afraid to fight anyone. The rule in our gym is “Don’t hurt the girls”.”
And it’s not just in the gym where Wynn does BJJ – she is also a regular competitor and has done well for herself too. Here she lists off her competition experience and ambitions for the future: “My first competition was at world masters last year. I won one, lost one, and tied two. I got 2 silver medals. My next competition was in Birmingham, Al. My opponent was in her forties and weighed a bit more than me. I got “killed”. The referee stopped the first fight because he thought she was going to break my arm and I was too stubborn to tap. I fought her twice and then did Absolute with a girl that outweighed me by 30 pounds.
She got her purple belt after that and I got bow and arrowed. My next competition was in Mississippi. This was the hardest. She was 36 years old and 20 lbs heavier. I fought her twice but didn’t last but about two or three minutes. Next, I’m going to Orlando, Florida for the Pan Am games”
We asked her about her experience on the mat as an older woman and if she had any similar training partners or friends willing to train, to answer this she quipped “I do recommend it to my friends, but they are afraid they would get hurt AND, they don’t think it would be fun to toll around on the mat the sweaty men. I really like the physical fighting. I grew up with two older brothers who bounced me around, a lot”
Another unique part of her age is the idea of learning. Often in life, there’s an assumption that older people are slower at learning things – here she mentions how learning may be slow, but she is continuing to improve – “It is hard for me to remember what we did in class. I video the drills so I can watch them again, later. I can’t say it’s just old age because I’ve always had trouble remembering stuff. Jiujitsu is a mental as well as physical game. The learning is never-ending. I think I’m getting better at remembering different moves, but when I compete, I’m more reactive.”
Lastly, we asked about her other hobbies and how BJJ has changed her life, this was her response: “I think you need to stay physically active, of course, but just as important is being mentally active, like learning a new language, or doing puzzles, playing cards, playing the piano, etc. I have a happy outlook on life. I have many friends. I horseback ride, play the piano, sew on occasion and generally enjoy my life. Jiujitsu has added yet another fun thing to do for me.”.
With this said and done, Wynn proves that age is just a number and whilst it may be more challenging on the mats compared to younger people – she also proves that with the right attitude and approach that anything is possible as long as you have passion and belief in what you believe in.
