Im reflecting on this after looking at a couple of team Mma and Bjj photos where im the only girl in the photo.
Female fighters are all around. Lots of women are doing the sport and enjoying it . So it would be wrong for me to make out that I'm super rare. However , spread out over the world, you do start to stand out as the minority. In my training I have a few girls who I can roll with , but the majority of my training is done with men who are always bigger than me. This can sometimes be something that makes my training frustrating. Of course they will be heavy and strong, but don't get me wrong that doesn't mean they beat me . It can sometimes confuse guys that someone of my size can submit them. To some men this can be frustrating as it makes them question their whole belief in manliness and then obviously attack their ego. They can get annoyed and sometimes act irritated at me. But this is actually not normal, and those kind of men are actually not what I want to talk about as they are rare. In Mma there is a huge misconception that the men are aggressive, angry, violent etc. This couldn't be more wrong. Infact I have come across the most humble guys I've ever met in Mma and Bjj communities. There are men that will treat me just like all the other guys on the mat. They will roll with me with no issues , and not think that I'm not good enough to train with them. In many Bjj and Mma teams I've been welcomed not as a woman but as a fighter . And this is something so beautiful about the sport.
I grew up with brothers and was never separated from activities because they were concidered a boy activity. I played football in the park, I played golf on huge courses (and lost lots of balls at the start, I was only 10.) I just loved being part of the activity and they didn't think I shouldn't be there. As you get older , gender stereotypes tend to divert you from such activities as its deemed unattractive or manly.
Mma has let me live the life I want to live. Feeling like I'm not a girl, I'm just a person trying to be good at something .and this is why I do and love Mma.
