大象传媒 Scotland - 大象传媒 Scotland - The rise of jui-jitsu among women: 鈥業 hope I never have to put my martial arts skills to use... I know I鈥檇 give somebody a hard time!鈥�

The rise of jui-jitsu among women: 鈥業 hope I never have to put my martial arts skills to use... I know I鈥檇 give somebody a hard time!鈥�

16 November 2018

“Having the knowledge that I have, I hope I never have to put it to use. Even if I wasn’t able to save myself, I’d give somebody a hard time.”

Rayalla, a Brazilian woman, is wary of situations where she might be walking around by herself.

In order to make her feel more safe she practises jiu-jitsu, a martial art and type of combat sport that involves submissions and throws.

Jiu-jitsu’s use in mixed-martial arts (MMA) fighting competitions such as UFC has seen it grow in popularity.

To Rayalla, the sport has many other positive attributes that make it a great way for women like her not just to feel safer but also find a friendly, welcoming community of like-minded people.

Jiu-jitsu originated in Rayalla’s home nation of Brazil, so it was pretty difficult for her not to be involved in the sport as a youngster.

There is no gender, it doesn鈥檛 matter who you are your age, your background, even your weight

“My little brother actually practised jiu-jitsu for a while. I used to go to his practices and watch all those guys – and girls – rolling and I used to be like ‘Wow, I want to do that!’”

Rayalla was a little intimidated by the physicality of the sport and admitted to feeling uncomfortable ‘rolling’ – or sparring – with male participants.

“I didn’t know if I was gonna be respected or if I was gonna feel unwelcome there.”

Rayalla’s reservations evaporated once she realised how welcoming the people in the sport are. Although fiercely competitive, even the opponents Rayalla faced in competition were people she wanted to hang out with.

“Me and the first opponent I had at a competition became friends! We’re planning on visiting each other’s gym and training together.”

Rayalla was also quite philosophical about her skill level and how it hasn’t meant she has been showered with medals and awards just yet.

“There was only me and my opponent in our category so she won and I won silver by losing. I call them pity medals.”