Tag Archives: Women BJJ

Epi 275 Black Belt Gina Franssen

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This week we have an interview with BJJ Black Belt Gina Franssen. You can find Gina running her own BJJ school X2 Fitness in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We talk about:

  • Her reason for starting BJJ after an assault
  • Running her own school
  • The original goal of a blue belt
  • Her thoughts on women’s self defense classes
  • Changing the reasons you train BJJ
  • You tap to the technique not the person
  • The culture of the gym
  • Dealing with frustrations on the mat

Links:

Quote of the week: “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” Johnny Cash

Article of the week: 5 Ways Jiu Jitsu Will Help Your Child In School

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 273 Kimberly Kaye From Jiu-Jitsu Times

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This episode we have an interview with Kimberly Kaye. Kimberly currently a blue belt and an author for Jiu-Jitsu Times. She also has a rare disease called CIPO. You will find her training at NOLA MMA in Louisiana.

We talk about:

  • Dealing with health issues including CIPO
  • How the Jiu-Jitsu community has supported her
  • Fitness tips
  • Advice for women starting BJJ
  • The importance of communicating with your training partners
  • Her advice on nutrition
  • Being an author for Jiu-Jitsu Times
  • Some of her past articles
  • Interviewing Evan Robinson
  • Starting from your knees
  • Fighting for points or submissions

Links:

Tip of the episode: Have a good way to explain your “why” about BJJ

Question of the episode: How can I get better sleep after an evening of training?

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 228 Teaching and Competing with Miriam Cardoso

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This week we have an interview with 3 stripe bjj black belt Miriam Cardoso. Miriam is training with Team Elite in Redmond, Washington.

Photo Credit Alegnafoto.com

We talk about:

  • Competing as a kid
  • Why she likes to compete against her opponents best game
  • Why she avoids the idea of a tune up tournament
  • Getting injured in an open class tournament
  • The story of getting her black belt
  • Running a BJJ gym
  • The joy of watching her students compete
  • She set the current record for our family feud game

Links:

Quote of the week: “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Carl Jung

Article of the week: If They Can’t Stop You, It’s Not Wrong

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 185 An Amazing Story and Advice From Sarah Draht

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This week we have an interview with BJJ brown belt Sarah Draht. She has been training since 2005. She shares her wealth of experience in Muay Thai, BJJ and MMA.

We talk about:

  • Her start in martial arts
  • Some of the things that make her passionate about BJJ
  • Running a women’s Muay Thai program
  • How a bad car accident almost killed her and kept her off the mat for four years
  • Recovering from her car accident
  • Mind Gym : An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence
  • How to avoid getting injured before a tournament
  • Advice for women transitioning from BJJ to MMA

Links:

Quote of the week: “‘Find a job you like, and you add five days to every week.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Article of the week: Live Sparring/Free Rolling: Get more out of it than just a good fight

Safe word of the week: Peanut butter

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 183 Gina Franssen From X2 Fitness

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This week we have an interview with Gina Franssen. Gina is Minnesota’s first female Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. You can find her at her female focused gym X2 Fitness. We cover a wide range of topics in this interview.

Gina Franssen (far right)

We talk about:

  • What BJJ was like for women fourteen years ago
  • How she was involved in a women’s only BJJ school
  • Adding men to what was once a women’s only BJJ school
  • What she looks for in quality male training partners
  • How she got started in martial arts
  • A tip to find a gym while traveling
  • Advice for women starting BJJ
  • Why it is important to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable

Links:

Quote of the week: People seldom refuse help, if one offers it in the right way. A. C. Benson

Article of the week: Drilling: How To Get the Most Out Of It

The Referee Corner Epi 4: Why does the referee alter the gi?

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 142 Black Belt Kristina Barlaan Part 2

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This week we bring part 2 of our interview with BJJ black belt Kristina Barlaan. Kristina is a top level black belt competitor under Caio Terra. She recently took silver at worlds her first year in the black belt division.Kristina Barlann bjj

We talk about:

  • Her competition history at worlds
  • Competing in the adult division vs the masters division
  • Getting sliver her first time in the black belt division
  • The mental side of competing against people you have watched for years
  • Her strategy for doing the open weight division as a light feather weight
  • Her plans for the rest of 2016
  • Advice for people doing their first tournament
  • Accepting being nervous
  • Dealing with the difficult things that come with tough training

Links:

Quote of the week: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

Article of the week: “How to train and adult at the same time”

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Gary tells us about his upcoming audio book about BJJ and Tap dancing.

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 104 Interview With Black Belt Alison Tremblay

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Alison is a black belt competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  This year she came in second at Black Belt IBJJF Worlds, and competed in ADCC in Brazil. She is from Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada.

Alison Tremblay

We talk about:

  • Training with her family
  • Our interview with her brother Michael Tremblay
  • The diversity of Alpha Mixed Martial Arts
  • Her full time job (it is not BJJ)
  • Going to school
  • What type of game she likes to play
  • Advice on getting the most out of rolling
  • Her experience at ADCC
  • Training for both Gi and No-gi
  • What she does to get mentally for the competition
  • Teaching the kids classes
  • Why BJJ is good for kids
  • What she was like as a blue belt
  • What she learned playing hockey that helped her in BJJ
  • Dealing with losses

Links:

Quote of the week: “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” William James

Article of the week: The Unsung Jiu JiteiroYour-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Epi 25 Girls in Gis with Amber Oxford

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Amber at a Girls in Gis event

Amber at a Girls in Gis event

This week we have an interview with Amber Oxford. Amber is a Blue belt that trains at Wichita Jiu-Jitsu Club. Amber is holding a free event called Girls in Gis on April 12 at the Wichita Jiu-Jitsu Club. When she is not on the mats Amber is a full time nurse and she recently bought a salon it is called Tranquility Salon. Amber also finds time in her busy schedule to compete on a regular basis.
Girls in gis was started by Ashley Nguyen as an open mat for women, it has gotten much bigger. Girls in Gis is a nonprofit organization that helps promote BJJ to women. It has been growing under the leadership of Shama Ko for the past five years.Amber Oxford Girls in gis2

Amber talks about:
Getting more women on your BJJ team
The Girls in Gis organization
Her experiences competing
The benefits of women doing BJJ
How to get a Girls in Gis event to your area
And much more
Support us by checking out our sponsor Fujisports.com Coupon code “BJJBrick” for 10% off your purchase. Check out the women’s Gi selection!

Quote of the week: This quote was brought to us by Coach John Connors “Commitment requires an endless series of small painful actions” Phil Stutz

Article of the week: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – A Female Perspective
Links
Girls in Gis
Amber’s Salon Tranquility Salon
Fujisports.com
Wichita Jiu-Jitsu Club
Ambers event on April 12th