Short Lived Victory

Gringo Squad @ Gordo's

I FINALLY tapped someone out yesterday, as a matter of fact, several someones! 

Afterwards, I sat around during the white belt class with the black belts talking and going over some positional questions that I had. After almost two months of being in Brazil, it feels good to be able to sit around and communicate with people in Portuguese. Being a white belt and a female in a house full of guys, in a gym full of guys, in a country that’s not your own can leave a girl feeling somewhat ostracized. It's nice to feel accepted. 

The president of Koral stopped by the Connection Rio house

Anyways, I left the gym feeling like a complete Brazilian badass. I went home and told my friend at the house and he looks at me completely unexcited and says, "What? You haven't tapped many people since you've been here". Victory short lived. 

Considering I'm almost 20 kilos lighter and at least 5 years younger than almost anyone that trains at my gym (with the exception of our gringo team), I most definitely have not be going into Gordo's and destroying anyone. In fact, my training experience there has consisted of a lot of drilling and a lot of me trying to throw arm bars on the incredible hulk. Trying to break someone’s guard feels like trying to break through a brick wall most of the time, so needless to say, I'm getting really good at getting crushed and then patiently waiting for the wall to open up a little, so I can transition and continue to get crushed from a different position. 

Repping Renzo Gracie PA!

I've considered switching gyms and going somewhere where they have more females or just lighter people, but loyalty is important to me. This gym is where I started and it’s associated with Renzo's back at home so it would be incredibly hard for me to leave.

I can't wait to compete in a couple of weeks so that I can let all of my frustration out on someone that is my belt level and my weight. I figure with the amount of time I spend training and the size of the guys I train with, I will destroy anyone that is my size. I went to my first BJJ competition last week and saw some of my friends compete, now I can't wait to step on the mats and bring home some medals.