As a newbie white belt, my first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu seminar was exciting and nerve racking! I knew I was a fan of Ffion Davies before I knew much about BJJ, she was a strong young women in a male dominated sport and someone who was easy to watch, relate to and learn from.

The guys at Evolution MMA started to catch on to my Ffion love, and when the opportunity to attend a seminar with our newly affiliated club Ronin Grappling came up they thought it would be the perfect opportunity to learn from such a highly decorated female black belt and other people from clubs across Scotland.

No-Gi and MMA coach Steve and I made the trip to Ronin Grappling in Glasgow, having lots of time to talk expectations of the day and what we hoped Ffion might cover.

Ffion was really warm and passionate in her delivery of the techniques, and her skills and knowledge of BJJ were so evident in the valuable detail she used to explain every little move.

After the technique, came time to roll! I had never rolled with anyone from any club other than Evolution MMA, so this was actually an aspect of the day I was nervous for! Feeling unsure of my place to roll with more experienced people, and if I had the skills to survive 5 minute rolls was daunting… but turned out to be a real highlight!

I was learning different ways of doing the same thing by rolling with new people, in particular other women. I could see from the techniques I had just learned from Ffion that the small but significant changes in applying technique were already making a difference.

Every time I roll or attend a class I learn new things. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has brought me only positives despite the many bruises, baths to recover and strength building I hadn’t realised I wanted! I have strong connections in the Evolution MMA club with amazing guys and a more recent new women that I haven’t experienced in a sport before.

BJJ definitely showed me that despite being a male dominated sport, the women involved are every part as strong and Ffion is a great example of that.

Author: Aimee Crausaz

Photos: Astrid