Victorious!

2013 IKF World Classic Strawweight Champion (108lbs)

My first fight via Regan Gower. Unanimous decision

Won my weight cut. Lost my bye.

Bidhan and I waiting for our plan to florida

to compete in IKF World Classic

Cutting weight is never fun. Every fight that I've had I continue to drop down to lower and lower weight classes. Now I know for sure where I'm comfortable fighting. 110-115 is a good range. 108 is a maybe I should hire a personal chief and a nutritionist if i'm ever going to do this again kind of deal. 105 is just not going to happen.  Half my problem with cutting weight stems from that fact that I am not good at cooking, and I'm even worse at cooking low carb, sodium free food that a weight cut requires. Therefore, I end up eating too little instead of eating stuff I shouldn't. It's crazy how you can work so hard to make weight for one day, half a day really, and then you try to gain it all back as soon as possible.

This time last year for my first weigh in ever

I was dying!

I made weight but for some reason I lost my bye. There are only three people in the division that I am fighting in so one person will only have to fight Sunday for the title fight, that was supposed to be me. Now I'll have to fight tomorrow and Sunday for my title. Initially I was pissed, but when it comes down to it this is a tournament, which means more than one fight, and taking the easy way to a title belt when my other teammates are fighting two or three times doesn't seem right. The girl I lost to last year fought three times to get to the title. I don't just want to have the title. I want to be the best.  

The fight skirt I made honoring my cousin and good friend that passed. 

Hard questions to answer

Não olhe para os defeitos dos outros, o que ele fez e nao fez, olhar

o que voce tem feito eo que você deixou de fazer. 

~Sakyamuni

People ask me all the time why I am going to Brazil. My answer: "To train Jiu Jitsu".
To which they ALWAYS reply: "well can't you do that in this country for cheaper".


But its not the same. Maybe I need to change my answer to, "I want to live Jiu Jitsu".


Second most popular question: "When are you coming back"
That doesn't seem like it should be a hard question, but I don't know. I've narrowed it down to, "Uh, I'll be back to test for my black belt with Joe, or The Boy, as we call him".

He is a belt under me; last month he got his brown belt and I got my advanced brown. That should give me 2 years to get back from Brazil to test for my black belt with him. That seems just to me, we make a good team. He can tap me out, but I'm way better at forms and weapons. Who's better at standup is still in the air (poor boy thinks he's Mike Tyson, I think I'm Superwoman, either way we're a good match up).  We're both the same weight class so we are always paired together, and we both work our asses off at the gym for Brent, the owner. We are also both tied for fourth in line in the "hierarchy" of who gets to act like their in charge when Brent is gone. But unlike Joe, I'm old school MiKiDo. I started under Brent's dad so I've learned every form since white belt, got my Kali at green belt, Nunchuck at blue, Bo staff at brown, and now I will be bringing the Coma, my new weapon, with me to Brazil.

ROHAI: Me (front right), Rob, (front Left), Joe (back right)

Most students don't learn their forms until its required. As a blue belt you have to do Rohai and at brown you have to go back and learn ALL the forms. Rob and I practice our forms all the time but trying to get one of the other fighters in the gym to pick up a weapon is..... challenging to say the least. I'll be proud to know that when I finally do get my black belt it will be because I've dedicated myself to mastering EVERYTHING we do at MiKiDo from fighting, to forms, to weapons. Now, with this trip to Brazil, I'll be adding my own thing to the mix that only Brent and his dad have: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu experience. Real Jiu Jitsu experience. So even though it pains me to leave the gym and watch others advance without me, I feel like it will make my black belt so much more legitimate, like I'll have earned it so much more. 

Another hard question: how the hell am I going to get all my weapons, plus my kimonos, plus my other training gear to Brazil AND still have room for regular clothes? 

4th of July- 16 days to fight

My sprinting field 

I was supposed to go home for 4th of July to visit my family, BUT my friend told me Renzo's would be closed over the holiday and through the weekend so I was forced to push my trip off to next week.

16 days til I fight for the IKF classic world champion belt in the Straw Weight division (108 lbs). 4th of July or not, I still had to get a work out in, so as guests started to arrive at my house for our cookout, I was in the driveway jumping rope and shadow boxing. Today being a holiday I decided to take a break from doing sprints on my normal soccer field and opted for the "20th Street Hill from Hell" instead. I haven't hit that hill since.... well possibly since training for this same fight last year. I picked a particularly hot and humid day at 1pm to tackle it, but I figure that Rio will be like this, if not worse, every day.

I stood at the bottom of the hill for a minute wishing that I was back in the comfort of my house, but I remembered the only thing I could think about before I stepped into the ring for my first fight ever was, "Shit! I wish I had done more sprints!". So I sprinted up and jogged down, sprinted up and jogged down until I did the allotted number of sprints at which point I generally pat myself on the back and half ass jog the three blocks back to my house. Today being an extra special day, instead of returning home, I sucked it up (literally I could have thrown up by then),  added two more feet and then did it all over again.

Consulate General of Brazil

"When you devote your life to achieving your goal, you will not be bothered by shallow criticism. In fact, nothing important can be accomplished if you allow yourself to be swayed by some trifling matter. The key to achievement is to move forward resolutely along your chosen path."
~Daisaku Ikeda

I just got back from successfully applying for my visa at the consulate general of Brazil. I've traveled abroad to Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and lived in the Dominican Republic several times, but this is the first time I've ever had to go to the consulate to apply for a visa. 

In order to go to Brazil, American citizens need to apply for a tourist visa that will allow them to enter the country for up to 6 months of the year. The application has to be completed (here) online and only takes a few minutes. You need to make sure you have your passport on hand so you can fill in the required information. Once your done you have to print out an electronic receipt, you'll need to sign and attach a photo. The website says to print out two copies. 

The price for the visa is $160 and an extra $25 dollar fee must be paid for visa applications that are not presented in person. All fees must be paid by a U.S. Post Office money order. No other forms of payment are accepted! While you're at the post office picking up your money order you should also get yourself a self-addressed priority mail package so that the consulate can mail your passport back to you after the visa is processed. This will save you a return trip to the consulate to pick up your passport. Make sure you get a tracking number-I didn't, so I will be returning to pick up my passport!

Along with the signed receipt, your passport, and the money order for $160 you will also need other documents like a copy of your drivers license, a recent bank statement, a REFUNDABLE exit ticket from Brazil (you do not need an entry ticket, just an exit ticket). Certain states require other sorts of documentation and if you've traveled abroad you may need yellow fever vaccines. In order to see all the requirements check the consulate website.

They told me I could come back and get my visa July 10th, which is a lot quicker than I was expecting. Once I pick it up I'll have three months to go to Brazil or it will expire. That's fine because I also emailed Connection Rio today to reserve a room for three months. I'm applying for a sponsorship which would allow me to train and live for free for up to three months, but I want to have my room secured just in case!   

Summer time

The best part about being a teacher is having my summers off. It allows me the pleasure of training and working full time at the gym. July and August are the two best training months that I have. I was supposed to have a title fight on June 15th, but I can't find a match. Now I won't fight til the IKF in Orlando this July. I'm disappointed, but I'm testing for my advanced brown belt on the 22nd of June so I have other things to keep me occupied. Training camp for the fighters started yesterday, since I don't have a fight I can focus more on Jiu Jitsu and my belt test. I went early to work on my forms and to grapple with Joe, the only other guy in the gym that is my size.

I just got my ticket to go to Florida. I'm registered at 108lbs in International Kickboxing Rules. I came in second last year to Tecia Torres at 116lbs. She went pro right after that. I want the title this year, after all, who knows when I'll be competing in kickboxing again after I go to Brasil.

In August, right after the tournament, I'm moving back to Pennsylvania. I'll get to train at Renzo Gracie PA, which is cool because I'm the only girl at MiKiDo and I know three girls that roll in that gym. I'll get to train there for a month or so before going to Brazil.

RIOTS in RIO

Burning Car in Rio de Janeiro (My minivan perhaps will face the same fate). 

If I had a car, I would just be getting into it on my way home after closing down MiKiDo with Brent. Instead I'm just arriving home after a 2 hour ride on the metro and a shuttle to get to the university.

I spent the majority of the metro ride home looking up tips for teaching English in Brazil, joining Linked In, and starting up a website from my worthless excuse of a Smart Phone. I was doing everything possible to keep my mind off how pissed I was that I would miss training tonight because I didn't have a car to get from the university to MiKiDo. Riding the metro gives me plenty of time to think. I often wonder what my life would be like if it wasn't ruled by a strict diet and gym routine. On my 24th birthday, I celebrated by skipping work and class at the university and I spent the whole day working out. A total of three times... it would have been four, but Master Brent's sister made me skip grappling and took me out to eat.


I can't fathom what life is like for people that come home from work and do nothing but watch T.V., cook dinner (or order out), and hang around. I'm constantly running around between work and school and fitting in two workouts a day whenever possible. Taking the metro takes away from my training time, and now I have to get plenty of extra paperwork done for my research proposal and for my visa. On Friday I'm going to the consulate to apply for my visa, which means I need to buy a plane ticket. I also need the data collected for my research before September so I can write my thesis from Brazil.


All of the pieces are starting to come together...


But today my aunt tried to say that, "No, you can't go to Brazil because it's not safe". My aunt, not my mom or my dad (because they know better- I wouldn't listen to them). It had to be my aunt; my aunt is the person that has clothed me since I can remember and has helped me through school and basically has been an essential part of my formation. She has great expectations for me and even put me through my undergraduate studies, which is why I call her my benefactor(anyone catch the literary reference??). She has done a lot for me, so her approval and support means a lot to me, but I'm unrelenting on this. I've wanted it so bad for too long to give up now. Between the riots and whatever my aunt's friend in the government has been telling her she is against my going to Rio. She wants me to get my teaching license and find a job because "you can't always do everything you want". So now I'm 0-2 this month, first I get my car stolen,  now this.


The riots in Rio will die down by September and I hope that my aunt's opposition to my trip dies with it.

I'm really excited about going to the consulate on Friday.