High Altitude Martial Arts was honored to host girls and women who came from all over Colorado and Wyoming to attend the Jiu Jitsu Gypsie’s July event.
Jiu Jitsu Gypsies is a grassroots organization that coordinates women’s Jiu Jitsu events in South Florida and Colorado to promote growth in the women’s BJJ community and provide a platform for social interactions among practitioners and newcomers. Their mission is to bring together women in the Jiu Jitsu community from different academies to train together, build a women’s social network, and contribute to the growth and health of the community.
We started off by telling everyone our names, where we train, and why we love BJJ. The answers ranged from loving the community to self defense to learning everyday. We did a quick warm up and played some ice breaker games. Then we partnered off with someone from a different academy.
Coach Kerry Mosher was asked to teach a technique and was highlighted weeks prior to the event.
I started training when I was 33 years old. Like most of us, I wish I had started younger but am glad I didn’t start any later. Over the last 9 years, I have learned more about myself than I have over the 33 years prior.
I got started in martial arts when I joined a cardio kickboxing class after moving to a new town to try and meet people and to get healthy. I enjoyed hitting mitts and bags, and the class gave me confidence I was lacking. The gym closed about six months into my training and so I had to find another one. I was looking specifically for kickboxing programs and found a female-owned MMA gym that offered Muay Thai classes. My first day there, I showed up early to meet the owner and when I walked in, there were all these men rolling around on the ground in their pjs. I was intrigued. The guy teaching the BJJ class was also the Muay Thai coach, so he invited me to try the BJJ class the next day. From then on, I was hooked to BJJ, training 6 days, 10 hours a week.
In the beginning, I competed in as many IBJJF tournaments as possible. Eventually, as a blue belt, I became a NY Pan Am No Gi Super-Heavy (175+) champ. After that, my competition days declined. Prior to BJJ, I had both ACLs repaired and a lot of meniscus cut away from knees. My knees couldn’t handle the “pressure” of competitions, so I positioned myself as a competition training partner helping those that were competing get ready for their competitions. It was a way to keep my competitive side fed, while taking care of my body.
HAMA is the third gym I have been a part of through my BJJ career so you can say I am a miniature Jiu Jitsu Gypsy.
I am grateful to all my gym families as through each of them, I found a sense place through community, competition, self-awareness/growth, and ability. The difference with HAMA is that I have become part of the gym as a coach with the Lil Yetis kid’s program for 4-6 year olds and the women’s program. While training BJJ is rewarding itself, adding the elements of coaching and teaching makes it all sweeter.
Kerry Mosher
After learning technique we all drilled then had an open rolling session. We bonded over snacks and our common love for Jiu Jitsu. It was a wonderful and empowering day.
