Calling all women, it’s your badass side calling.
Oh good, you picked up.
You know that inner warrior we all have inside ourselves? One who’s strong, smart and can get herself out of a jam if one were to occur. I grew up hooked on watching Xena: Warrior Princess then after my sister and I would get yelled at for fighting and wrestling each other till one cried out in bloody murder.
Though, that is a silly thing we once did when we were young and yes that was a silly, silly show but fast forward 20 years and I now realize it was more about watching a strong female role model who can defend herself.
Rouge Combat Club of Asheville invites you to unleash your inner badass by learning the skills to fight and defend.
Among the many various classes they offer a once a month FREE all women Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class.
This came into fruition stemming from an idea of Rouge Combat Club’s coach Bryan Asheland to get more women into Jiu-Jitsu through an all women’s workshop. Jenn Lay who was at the time working the front desk took this idea and ran. In following, Jenn constantly went to the gym’s BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) classes to become a face among the big sweaty men and to be an outlet for women to see her there (of course kicking butt and taking names too). She is now in charge of social media and events and took on the all women’s workshop idea, called it “SHE-JiuJitsu” and has really made it her own.
“This workshop was created to break down the boundaries for women when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu and to make it less intimidating”- Jenn explains.
The women community in the martial arts world is far less than men.
Though, there is a strong need for it, to learn such a useful skill can offer so many benefits to one’s life. Jenn explains how the regular co-ed class can be intimidating for women because of two reasons, it being a mostly male dominated sport and the unfamiliar vocabulary used in training. Jenn also enlightens me to explain the need for more women in BJJ for the simple reason of different perspective, “women have a different perspective on movement and offer a different teaching style”. It’s so refreshing to see Jenn light up when talking about women in BJJ, an empowered babe helping to empower all women. “It’s for every shape and size no matter what age, BJJ will work for you”.
During this once a month workshop, you are in the comfort of all women with all varying skill levels. I remember when it was my first day going with no experience of any martial arts and yes I was nervous but thankfully that feeling faded fast during the class. Since I’ve been to four of these events it’s so exciting to see more and more woman joining with the last class having over 20 women on the mat.
Each class is different focusing on a new technique to practice with rotating partners. Classes are lead by a different guest female coach each time, usually a blue belt and up which means typically having two years of experience. When the coach is instructing, she breaks the technique down into smaller parts of the move to be practiced isolated to link all together at the end. This is so helpful for a first time student to get the hang of it at a slower pace or even for an experienced individual to take the time to practice and perfect a technique. That is why this class is so great for all skill levels. SHE-JiuJitsu is also a great way to welcome women into the co-ed classes.
“This program is not about fear mongering, it’s about the sport, community and confidence”, Jenn states.
I personally love these classes for many reasons but the most noteworthy reason is the feeling you get from learning this skill. It’s an empowering feeling to know you can defend yourself; it raises your confidence bar. I seriously invite you to try these classes to cultivate this feeling for yourself. Plus it’s fun and a great way to make friends when you have them pinned to the floor.
If this will be your first time to try any martial arts like it was for me, I’ll leave you with this. This is my advice for starting anything unfamiliar; when starting something new, there is always that first day to be the newbie. To feel a bit nervous and not know what to expect but once you have that under your belt it’s all smooth sailing after. You just need to start. The sooner you start the sooner you’re not the newbie.
The next She-Jiu-Jitsu Class is on February 24th. They are normally held on Sunday’s from 4-5:30. Click here to be directed to their event page and follow Rouge Combat Club on Facebook and Instagram to make sure you don’t miss the next workshop.
**One special event will be held on April 28th, to celebrate one year of She-jiu-jitsu workshops in Rouge Combat Club so mark your calendars! The event will be lead by a 10th Planet Brown Belt, Lindsey Mccaghren, out of 10th Planet Decatur in Alabama. For those of you new to BJJ, she is kind of a big deal when it comes to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu so being coached by her is an honor.