About Me
I’m a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Tim Mannon (Renzo Gracie black belt). I started in April 2008; I got my blue belt after 17 months. I’m 29 years old.
I’ve also taken MMA (with Tim) and kickboxing classes (with Perry). I hold a 1st dan in Tae Kwon Do (Chong Do Kwan).
I’m a writer, an editor, and a business analyst — and a bit OCD and somewhat of a perfectionist — so I may update things, move things around, etc. I’m trying not to, but it’s hard… I love to write, and I write about everything, always have. (This is why I have so many extra pages that sprout up. I can’t stop writing!) I like to tell stories, which is why my entries often seem that way. Not wanting to leave out an important detail, I’ll include all the unimportant ones, too; analysis can come later. I’ve always been an introvert and a loner, so actually interacting with so many people on a near-daily basis is a new experience for me, and I’m still learning how it goes.
Hi 
bjjgrrl by leslie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
That means you can copy what you find here and can even change it so long as you please tell everyone where you got it and you don’t make any money off it. And if you put it up somewhere, you agree to let other people copy and change it, using a similar license.
Hi,
Great blog, thank you for reading my message. I have just started bjj, and was wondering if u have any tips for a newcomer, and someone interested in eventually competiting. thank you for your time ~Alicia
Hi, Alicia. Congrats on starting BJJ!
As a beginner, I think the most important thing is to be patient with yourself; you’re trying to do something that’s completely different and not always intuitive. Seven months in, and I’m still working on this!
Also, don’t worry about how many times you have to tap during sparring. It’s just practice, so work on getting in to and out of positions. You will get better, even though you might be last person to notice. =P
I haven’t competed yet, though I’d also like to, so I don’t have much advice for that. I do know that most (all?) tournaments start on the feet, while most in-class work starts on the ground to minimize injury (well, at least at my school, it does). So if your school doesn’t work a lot of takedowns, you may want to ask an instructor or advanced belt for extra work on takedowns before a tournament.
Hi, I just found your blog and am working my way through your archives. Is it possible we were separated at birth?
I too am a female writer/editor who loves the martial arts. I’m currently taking a combination of jujitsu and karate, and would love to take BJJ someday. I’ve done stand-up karate for a while and love the ground stuff.
Just a note to let you know that your blog made it to the finals in the 2008 BJJ Blog of the Year Contest.
http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2008/12/21/bjj-blog-year-vote/
Happy Holidays,
Caleb
Thanks, Caleb
nice blog! im linking your blog to mine. keep it up.
Hi, Ricky. Thanks for stopping by.
good blog!
Hey, Thanks for joining the forum! Hope to see you on it soon, You should definitely come down to newbreed in CA to train. Let us know how you are doing! Thanks
Kay
Hi,
I do tkd and just started BJJ. Glad to know there are others out there!
_Jessica
Hey, Jessica! Hope you enjoy BJJ and stick with it.
I definitely am having a blast so far!
Hi Leslie. I wondered if in your internet travels you’ve run across other great blogs by women in BJJ or other martial arts that write about the issues of training women? I’d appreciate a heads up if you have any favorites.
Hey, Mark, thanks for stopping by. I maintain a “Women Resources” page to keep track of blogs and articles by and about women.
The new header type thing looks very cool. me likey!
@Tom: it’s the theme I’m using — it has several built-in headers and different colors for the highlights (currently orange). I like it because I can change it up when I’m bored without having to redo all the widgets and such.