Rolling with girls is good!

[littleone]

I recently became a writer for Suite 101 and wrote this as my first article. Pick it apart and/or take the content into consideration, this forum could use it.

Why Men Should Train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu With Females

 

[Cash Bill 52]

I recently became a writer for Suite 101 and wrote this as my first article. Pick it apart and/or take the content into consideration, this forum could use it.

Why Men Should Train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu With Females

Nice article...I think you should train with everyone in your academy....old, young, male, female...

Why Men Should Train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu With Females

Oct 8, 2010


Practicing a Jiu Jitsu Technique with a Female - Gracie Barra

Ever feel like grappling with a female might not benefit your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training? Don't let these reasons stop you!

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that focuses on ground game and grappling. It was created with the idea that the smaller, weaker person could overcome a stronger opponent or simply put, technique over strength. This is a sole reason why it is a perfect sport for the little guys or girls. Physically speaking, females will never be as strong as males – it's physiologically not possible, but it furthers the idea that females would benefit from learning such a style of self-defense. Although the idea of females training jiu jitsu is not far fetched, it is rather rare and sometimes nonexistent in some academies. There are a number of reasons men often cite for choosing not to train with women but here are some resolutions:

Avoiding Injury While Training with a Female Partner

Most of the females that grapple are considerably smaller than the average male. If paired with a female, this is a perfect opportunity to work on technique. There are plenty of times even an experienced grappler will use energy and strength that can be spared with a certain technique or position which is an opportune time to drill when with a female. There is a chance you could hurt a female opponent but just like any other training partner, she will know when to tap. Make sure you avoid explosive positions or submissions, watch the weight you place, focus on drilling techniques and you will be safe, not sorry.


How to Appropriately Touch a Female Training Partner

Chances are, if a female is a serious grappler then she has learned to deal with her lady parts while training. It is okay to place your hands upon the chest of a female while rolling (i.e. while in mount) without the possibility of her yelling sexual harassment. Most likely the more awkward you make the situation, the more awkward it will be. Yes, be conscious of where your hands wander but don't treat your opponent much different than you would if she was another male.

Maintaining Your Manhood While Training with a Female Partner

A large aspect of the jiu jitsu mentality is respect for your opponent. Without a training partner it would be very hard to learn and gain the experience of this full-contact sport. Females deserve the same respect as any other opponent which should not be an issue but worth noting none-the-less. A girl who has been training for awhile will be able to tap anyone including males during training. It is not a shot to your ego nor should it take anything away from your masculinity. If anything, being "beat" by a girl would just further prove the effectiveness of this sport you obviously find some faith in so don't try extra hard or take anything to heart.

Men should not hesitate to choose a female as a training partner because women force men to focus on technique rather than brute strength. Now the existence of jiu jitsu revolves around this idea but it usually takes an experienced grappler to understand so don't be afraid to initiate a training session with a woman and as always, train smart.

 

[aceofspades]

I don't understand the big distinction this article created between female & male grapplers. What's the next article: "Why tall guys can totally sometimes grapple with short guys!" It's just not a difference big enough to merit special consideration. And some of those bjj girls are strong, yo. Or they can sure as hell seem so, especially when they outrank you. Great article, though.

 

[littleone]

I don't understand the big distinction this article created between female & male grapplers. What's the next article: "Why tall guys can totally sometimes grapple with short guys!" It's just not a difference big enough to merit special consideration. And some of those bjj girls are strong, yo. Or they can sure as hell seem so, especially when they outrank you. Great article, though.

My distinction is between male and female given that guys will find more of a difference between rolling with a girl than rolling with say, a smaller guy which can be similar. I made the article to mention how we have boobies and guys make note of not wanting to grab the boobies while rolling or the whole ego issue that is less expressed. Obviously the issue with females being less strong was a great point to make and that does apply to smaller guys as well but I touched on that in my intro.

 

[Lug's Spear]

Avoiding injury - Kind of sexist and doesn't have anything to do with the principles of jiu jitsu. A small opponent or weaker opponent in jiu jitsu still has the ability to beat a bigger opponent. This section should be labeled as going against white belts and not against females. It's fairly condescending.

Hand placement - Seems pretty good and sound advice.

Maintaining manhood - seems fine except for this part "Men should not hesitate to choose a female as a training partner because women force men to focus on technique rather than brute strength." Not all women are weak or smaller.

To me this kind of article should focus more on similarities and a lot less on trying to invent differences, just my opinion.

 

[littleone]

I see what you're saying. Of course this advice could be applied in other circumstances and there are going to be exceptions. Should I have noted that this article could pertain more to beginners? Obviously the risk of injury is prevalent at every level of skill with any type of person. And thanks for your input, it's what I need before I write more.

 

[All In The Game]

I don't wanna end up on that list in the Judo thread, man...

 

[Cash Bill 52]

I do go out of my way to not touch the "boobies". There have been a few times where my hand was trapped in a bad spot. Yanking it out wouldn't have been the best technique...


We have quite a few women in my school and our affiliates. I've trained with lots of them. Luckily I have good technique and I have passed the "roll with women" test.

It is an opportunity to work on the gentle side of my overall strategy.

 

[aceofspades]

My distinction is between male and female given that guys will find more of a difference between rolling with a girl than rolling with say, a smaller guy which can be similar. I made the article to mention how we have boobies and guys make note of not wanting to grab the boobies while rolling or the whole ego issue that is less expressed. Obviously the issue with females being less strong was a great point to make and that does apply to smaller guys as well but I touched on that in my intro.

Yeah, but more than pointing it out, you're CREATING a distinction by writing the article. In my gym nobody makes a big deal out of it, and everyone would roll with anyone and it wouldn't matter because nobody saw much of a difference between male and female grapplers.

Let me rephrase my earlier example. In my mind, writing this is about as politically correct as writing an article geared towards black people (who, as a whole are generally physically superior) mentioning the benefits of rolling with white people (who are physically slightly weaker). It's like ...huh? We know the difference exists, but in this sport the difference is quite minimal and pointing it out doesn't help anyone.

I guess I just thought the whole thing, while well-intentioned, was kinda sexist.

 

[All In The Game]

In my mind, writing this is about as politically correct as writing an article geared towards black people (who, as a whole are generally physically superior) mentioning the benefits of rolling with white people (who are physically slightly weaker).

Nothing good will come out of this, no sir...

 

[aceofspades]

Nothing good will come out of this, no sir...

See how you were immediately slightly offended when you read my example? Exactly the way I felt after I read the article.

 

[littleone]

Yeah, but more than pointing it out, you're CREATING a distinction by writing the article. In my gym nobody makes a big deal out of it, and everyone would roll with anyone and it wouldn't matter because nobody saw much of a difference between male and female grapplers.

Let me rephrase my earlier example. In my mind, writing this is about as politically correct as writing an article geared towards black people (who, as a whole are generally physically superior) mentioning the benefits of rolling with white people (who are physically slightly weaker). It's like ...huh? We know the difference exists, but in this sport the difference is quite minimal and pointing it out doesn't help anyone.

I guess I just thought the whole thing, while well-intentioned, was kinda sexist.

Black people are more inclined to be stronger and white people, only compared to black people, are physically inept? Nice! I think you took this a lot farther on your own than what my article may have pointed out. That's great that your academy has lots of lenient and respectful training partners but given that some academies lack female grapplers, there are considerably way less that participate in the art and especially the sport and that it is a known fact that some guys have hesitations with them, I thought it was a great topic to elaborate on.

 

[joho]

Most of the females that grapple are considerably smaller than the average male. If paired with a female, this is a perfect opportunity to work on technique. There are plenty of times even an experienced grappler will use energy and strength that can be spared with a certain technique or position which is an opportune time to drill when with a female. There is a chance you could hurt a female opponent but just like any other training partner, she will know when to tap. Make sure you avoid explosive positions or submissions, watch the weight you place, focus on drilling techniques and you will be safe, not sorry.

This entire paragraph is useless. Its when you roll with larger and stronger opponents that you use a lot more technique than power, as you need the technique to leverage you when power doesn't cut it.

You are supposed to use explosive power in some techniques. If you're smaller, you use techniques more, and if you're larger, its usually more about strength(big generalization) If you're larger than someone, its a lot easier to just sit in side mount. If you're smaller and in side mount with someone much larger than you underneath, you'd need to use a lot more body positioning and technique to stop him/her from escaping.


The only tiff I have with rolling against girls is when they have long hair and I've going for a hook underneath the head and my arm get stuck in her hair. We both stop for a sec, untangle my arm, then get going again, no big deal.

Rolling with a female-to avoid explosive positions or submissions? You do realize that this isBJJ, yes?

Who are you and what are your credentials again?

 

[Cash Bill 52]

I also wanted to add that many of our women fighters have husbands or boyfriends that are our training partners as well. We are all one big happy family.

In general, however, there are not many women jiu jitsu players. I think it is unfortunate. Some of my female teammates complain about some meatheads that don't know how to roll with women.

 

[littleone]

This entire paragraph is useless. Its when you roll with larger and stronger opponents that you use a lot more technique than power, as you need the technique to leverage you when power doesn't cut it.

You are supposed to use explosive power in some techniques. If you're smaller, you use techniques more, and if you're larger, its usually more about strength(big generalization) If you're larger than someone, its a lot easier to just sit in side mount. If you're smaller and in side mount with someone much larger than you underneath, you'd need to use a lot more body positioning and technique to stop him/her from escaping.


The only tiff I have with rolling against girls is when they have long hair and I've going for a hook underneath the head and my arm get stuck in her hair. We both stop for a sec, untangle my arm, then get going again, no big deal.

Who are you and what are your credentials again?

This article is for dudes, who are larger and stronger, who would have any "issues" or slight reasons not to roll with a girl, considering she is smaller and weaker by any margin, and in this example I'm just stating that it's good for larger opponents to not rely so much on strength and learn from the smaller opponents to use better techniques. Maybe I'm way too tired right now but I'm not fully understanding how your point is going against mine.

 

[littleone]

I do go out of my way to not touch the "boobies". There have been a few times where my hand was trapped in a bad spot. Yanking it out wouldn't have been the best technique...


We have quite a few women in my school and our affiliates. I've trained with lots of them. Luckily I have good technique and I have passed the "roll with women" test.

It is an opportunity to work on the gentle side of my overall strategy.

You train with Jessica, no? She just got her blue belt which is awesome!

 

[TheMadHatter]

im not seeing the point of this, i have never had a problem rolling with girls

 

[joho]

This article is for dudes, who are larger and stronger, who would have any "issues" or slight reasons not to roll with a girl, considering she is smaller and weaker by any margin, and in this example I'm just stating that it's good for larger opponents to not rely so much on strength and learn from the smaller opponents to use better techniques. Maybe I'm way too tired right now but I'm not fully understanding how your point is going against mine.

Not quite, your point is about girls, being smaller and weaker, perhaps. You could just as easily replace that with smaller and weaker people in general versus larger more experienced opponents. This isn't exclusive to females.

If you wanted to make this the focus of girls BJJ, do an article that might detail how to get out of some awkward submission situations, that require grappling to certain areas, or if your arm gets stuck in their hair etc, expand on that more. This is exclusive to females.

Or the reverse, how for females to get out of awkward grabby situations with guys.

Then again, its only with the newbies that those situations occur. With my more experienced female grapplers, we both have mutual respect while rolling and generally don't give a shit.

 

[littleone]

I didn't write the article so that every male grappler could "learn a lesson" or "see an obvious issue." It's there for when guys, whom it may apply to, can search their little questions on google and read up from a female grappler's perspective. If there are no issues with you regarding rolling with girls, that's awesome-- I want to roll with you. Don't take this as a cheap shot, then?

 

[aceofspades]

Black people are more inclined to be stronger and white people, only compared to black people, are physically inept? Nice! I think you took this a lot farther on your own than what my article may have pointed out. That's great that your academy has lots of lenient and respectful training partners but given that some academies lack female grapplers, there are considerably way less that participate in the art and especially the sport and that it is a known fact that some guys have hesitations with them, I thought it was a great topic to elaborate on.

Whoa, chill.

I'm just saying that, in my opinion, writing about the problem doesn't help solve it. Highlighting it only makes the issue worse. Whenever there's a new guy at my gym that feels sort of weird about fighting with one of the girls, the other guys laugh at him. That makes the new guy think "Gee, maybe it's not a big deal after all" and he'll quickly learn there's not a big difference between fighting with a girl and a guy. But if the new guy reads your article, he's going to go into a fight thinking "Okay, since girls are weak I have to be extra specially careful because they're different and while it will improve my game, I have to treat them differently because she's a female". See how it doesn't really help to treat the issue?

A better approach would be to highlight the similarities between both genders, and how fighting with a girl helps develop your game as much as fighting with a guy.

Also, you're talking about issues that are not exclusive to males vs. females fights. When a larger guy goes against a smaller guy (which happens extremely often outside competitions) it creates exactly the same problem you're writing about. Why should it only be a problem when an average sized man goes against and average sized woman?