It’s been a year since I first developed anxiety in Jiu Jitsu. The battle against anxiety was promptly followed up by a major neck injury that kept me on the sidelines (and still recovering). It would be easy to write this year off as terrible. Easy. Most people end the year by saying something along the lines of how terrible their year was anyway, I could easily fall in line.…
Category: Women in Jits
8 Posts
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Show Up-Even on the “Meh” Days
Last night was an important night. Physically, I felt “meh” all day. Sore, tired, bloated from eating food I don’t normally eat, and just generally “off”. But all weekend I had plans for last night. I had particular things in mind I wanted to do and work on, and I was tired of letting my body dictate whether or not I could do things when I wanted to. So I…
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Today I Didn’t Quit…
Today I didn’t quit. I didn’t give up. I didn’t walk away. I did things that challenged me. I failed at things. I succeeded at others. I chose joy in the midst of struggle. Embraced discomfort in the middle of suckage. Failure doesn’t have to equal giving up. Sometimes it equals growth, but only if you let it. I’d rather fail a hundred times and be a hundred lessons better…
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Handling Anxiety When it Creeps into Your Jiu Jitsu
I’m not generally an anxious person. I don’t get panicked easily, and I don’t usually get very afraid. I like risks. I like crazy. I like doing hard things. I’m strong. Capable. I’m struggling with anxiety and panic attacks in Jiu Jitsu. I’ve kept it to myself for months. Months. Because what the heck kind of purple belt all of a sudden gets panic attacks?!?! I finally told my coach…
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This is Jill…
This is Jill. She didn’t know it, but rolling with her in Montana 1.5 years ago was my first experience rolling with a female colored belt. We were both blue belts at the time. I. Was. Terrified. I know that seems strange. After all, women are usually nervous to roll men for the first time…but another woman?!? The context of my Jiu Jitsu training for the two years prior had…
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Challenging Perceived Beliefs
One of my perceived beliefs was challenged yesterday. Two, actually. I’m pretty sure I missed the next several minutes of instruction because my brain just could not fathom what I had just learned. My jits coach is a big guy. Big compared to anyone, really, and definitely big compared to me. He likes pressure passing. I’ve always thought, “well, duh, he’s HUGE! Of course he likes to use pressure.” But…