Stephanie Williamson

Speaker A: Hello, hello.

Speaker B: Hey, I finally got it.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker A: So evidently Skype is not the way to go.

Speaker A: I should listen to my yes, ma'am.

Speaker A: I can.

Speaker A: So, yeah.

Speaker A: Thank you so much for agreeing to talk with me on the podcast.

Speaker A: So hopefully it goes as well.

Speaker B: Absolutely not a problem.

Speaker A: Yeah, well, I guess just to get started, thank you again for joining.

Speaker A: Just maybe tell everybody your name, your rank, just a little bit about yourself.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker B: My name is Stephanie Williamson.

Speaker B: I'm a brown belt.

Speaker B: I have been doing GJ for six years now.

Speaker B: I had to actually look at some old Facebook posts because it feels like it's spent so much longer than that.

Speaker B: I honestly can't imagine, like we're doing.

Speaker B: And actually my children are kind of what got me started.

Speaker B: They started when they were five, and so as a family, we kind of started six years.

Speaker B: And it's just part of our daily activities.

Speaker B: It's not a question of if we're going, it's when we're going.

Speaker B: I love it.

Speaker A: And you've certainly been very active in the competition circuit.

Speaker A: You've won Worlds four times, golds, Pan five times gold and silver.

Speaker A: You've twelve times gold at Nationals, pan, no gee, gold and silver, world no gee, three times as Bron medalist, and you just racked up four gold medals at American Nationals, am I right?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker B: We came home Saturday from national.

Speaker A: So describe that.

Speaker A: What was that like?

Speaker B: We really had a good time, so we travel together as a team.

Speaker B: And so I know you just do a oneonone sport, but it's truly like a team sport.

Speaker B: We've traveled together as a team and kind of support each other.

Speaker B: I actually have a funny story for getting there.

Speaker B: It was a little bit of a disaster.

Speaker B: I'm also in Sierra Pool, and so I'm kind of having to balance a lot of things this year as far as school and being able to train out my year at the Brown Belt.

Speaker B: And so I was in school Monday and Tuesday and then kind of rushing around doing some things on Wednesday.

Speaker B: And our plan was to fly out Wednesday afternoon.

Speaker B: And so between getting the girls where they needed to be before I left out and getting horrible New Orleans traffic, I actually ended up missing my flight to fly out in Ashley, which happened to me last year to the point where I tried to compete at Adult World last year in December and could not get a flight to make it, period.

Speaker B: So I ended up missing it.

Speaker B: So when I got to the airport and had missed my flight, I was like, please tell me what I got to do to get there.

Speaker B: Anyway, spirit actually works with me.

Speaker B: It was a small fee to read books.

Speaker B: However, I ended up flying to Chicago, spending the night in the Chicago Airport, and then flying into Vegas the next morning.

Speaker B: Except even that afternoon.

Speaker B: Yeah, I've never had to do that before.

Speaker B: I've heard stories of people having to sleep at the airport, but I was that girl at the time, and it wasn't possible, but it was not the most convenient thing.

Speaker A: Right, well, I'm surprised that you were still able to get a flight because they've been canceling flights left and right, so I'm happy that you were able to get one.

Speaker B: Yeah, I was really worried about it, but it worked out.

Speaker B: And so, anyway, I competed in the Key on Thursday.

Speaker B: Because of school.

Speaker B: I've actually moved up a weight division this year, so I didn't have to worry about cutting weight.

Speaker A: I got you.

Speaker B: So luckily I did that.

Speaker B: So when I arrived, I was on weight, ready to compete.

Speaker A: Perfect.

Speaker B: There was no one in my division for e.

Speaker B: There was someone, and then like, right after the date, they moved out anyway, so I ended up doing the Open.

Speaker B: I had two matches in the Open, both really solid bar players.

Speaker B: So I was able to get some passing offense and some backpack offense and ended up winning on points on the first one.

Speaker B: And then.

Speaker A: Nice, they were good.

Speaker A: And then nogi, was Friday, I'm assuming, or was it Saturday?

Speaker B: Nogi, was Friday for me.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: I had the same thing as far as the girl kind of moving out the last minute, I did the Open, and I have actually been kind of took a step back and I've been really working more.

Speaker B: Wrestling take down.

Speaker B: My game is a takedown in the past kind of game, but I have a specific kind of drop san agu that I normally do for my take down, but I've taken a little bit to the wrestling and anyway, the chance for me to really work on my wrestling, and I really saw a big difference adding that into my game.

Speaker B: So I was able to get you take down on both of my Yogi matches and able to pass guard and kind of rack up some points between passing and taking the back and things like that.

Speaker B: They were good matches.

Speaker A: Oh, that's good.

Speaker A: That's good because you hate it when somebody pulls out.

Speaker A: You got ready, you were there, and then that's not how you want the day to go, but still you went in and you claimed what was yours.

Speaker A: It sounds like that's great.

Speaker A: Oh, yeah.

Speaker A: I saw a bunch of posts on Facebook of everybody just racking up the precious metals, so I know that I've had the chance to roll with you.

Speaker A: And our games are totally opposite.

Speaker A: So when did you find the style that really worked for you?

Speaker A: Was that out the gate?

Speaker A: You realized your pressure style was going to be your jam, or was it trial and error?

Speaker B: For me, I started out in a smaller gym in Wiggins where they did a lot of passing and take down.

Speaker B: And then my professor currently started teaching classes at that gym, and it's Eric rosoo.

Speaker B: And if you know him, he is a card player.

Speaker B: He has an excellent life, so excellent fighter.

Speaker B: And I started doing private early on with him and you would assume that he would have steered me that way.

Speaker B: But he was actually instrumental and kind of helping me develop what works for me based on my body type and things I was already kind of picking up on as a white belt and just progressing that if you've done seminars or kind of anything with him.

Speaker B: He has a knack for looking at people and just knowing what they would be good at.

Speaker B: I don't know if that's like a natural talent coach type thing or if he spent so many years resting that he kind of picks up on it, but he took me and my husband kind of under his wing as we were white belts, and if you roll with teeth at all, we have completely different games he's going to pull.

Speaker B: He's going to use those long legs to wrap you up in a high guard and that's where he's going to work, where I'm going to work for a take down, work for the past and progress that way.

Speaker B: So I think he did a lot that take down that everybody kind of knows I do.

Speaker B: The drops in was actually him and it was entertaining.

Speaker B: We had several privates where I was like, Eric, I'm not doing this.

Speaker B: I don't like it.

Speaker B: And he's like, I promise, if you will just stick with it, it's going to work for you.

Speaker A: Sure it is.

Speaker B: Having a good coach makes such a.

Speaker A: Big difference, for sure.

Speaker A: And so when you moved and you picked Rapasa to train under him, was that something that you were really considering?

Speaker A: Like, did you shop around for I don't want to say shop around.

Speaker A: That makes it sound did you visit a lot of different jujitsu gyms in the area before landing there or just happen to luck out?

Speaker B: I walked out with him and he was coming to teach at the gym that I trained at already kind of once a week.

Speaker B: And then when he moved to Louisiana, I just kind of stuck with him.

Speaker B: I have a very different learning style.

Speaker B: I think I really have to hyper focus one thing and kind of get really good at that one thing.

Speaker B: And his teaching saw just works for me.

Speaker B: I struggled to learn from a lot of other people and I know it's me, I know it's my learning stall, but he has a way of kind of breaking it down where I get it.

Speaker B: And it's funny, I've helped him do privates with other people and I realized during those private just how much he has like, written things down for me just based on what I need as a student versus what he has to do for other people.

Speaker B: It's kind of funny.

Speaker B: I have a friend of mine that was doing like polo privates and all of this.

Speaker B: And I'm thinking, oh, wow, this is not me.

Speaker A: But I said, those bare bolos.

Speaker A: I would not put you in that category.

Speaker A: But you never know.

Speaker B: Not at all.

Speaker A: But it works.

Speaker A: But your knee cut passes, man, those things, they just slice through.

Speaker A: They're good.

Speaker A: What you do works.

Speaker A: So I wouldn't change a thing.

Speaker A: But I know you were mentioning cRNA school.

Speaker A: How's that going is if you didn't have enough on your plate with Jiu jitsu and being a nurse and now going to school and being a mom.

Speaker A: So how do you carve out the time for everything?

Speaker B: I have had to rebalance a lot of things this year.

Speaker B: Prior to starting school, I work as a nurse, but the job I had was I was at the bedside, but I wasn't required to be there for 12 hours.

Speaker B: And so I would either go to early morning class and then go to my work day, or I would go into work early and then leave a little bit early and go to jiujitsu.

Speaker B: And a lot of that planning and stuff had to do with, like, picking the girls up from school.

Speaker B: And my husband's a firefighter, and so he does 24 on, 48 off.

Speaker B: And so we just kind of and we still do this.

Speaker B: We sit down on Sunday, and it's like, okay, we're doing this day, and we kind of frame it out so that everybody gets to do the things that they want to do.

Speaker B: But this year has been very different because of school.

Speaker B: My girls are playing softball, and so they have really taken to that overdue.

Speaker B: I got to be honest.

Speaker B: Makes my heart a little bit sad, but I'm super excited to see them excited and all that.

Speaker B: But I've changed in this year to doing a lot of morning classes.

Speaker B: I go before I go to class, and then that way I can go with them in the evening.

Speaker A: That makes sense.

Speaker B: I do not watch any TV.

Speaker B: If the TV is on, I am probably studying and they're watching it.

Speaker B: So everybody kind of has the same 24 hours.

Speaker B: You just have to really look at your day and use your time wisely.

Speaker A: I mean, absolutely.

Speaker A: For sure.

Speaker A: I know.

Speaker A: We call it here, the Breakfast Club at Archaejitsu Place.

Speaker A: We get started about 530 in the morning, and very few people want to come.

Speaker A: But the ones who do their game, they carved out time because they can't make it the evening classes because they're either on call in the evenings or they're going offshore.

Speaker A: They got to get it in when they can't.

Speaker A: So I guess that's kind of your situation.

Speaker A: Do you all have morning classes every day, or do you get that three, four times a week in the morning, or what does that look like?

Speaker B: So usually I go on Monday and Tuesday in the morning class into the days I'm in lecture also.

Speaker B: And so it actually works really well because by the time I get to school, like, I am wide awake, ready to go.

Speaker B: I am feeling great and super focused, and it works well for me.

Speaker B: And then Eric actually comes to the main gym that I train at, which is the main develop.

Speaker B: He comes there on Wednesday.

Speaker B: So I'll go to midday class on Wednesdays because I don't have class that day.

Speaker B: And then Thursday and Fridays are kind of tossed up.

Speaker B: A lot of times I go to morning class, but the wrestling coach teaches that class and he actually teaches it in the Ghee, so it's a great one.

Speaker B: Yeah, he's helping transition some of those things that are different from no G.

Speaker B: Wrestling.

Speaker B: Wrestling.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker A: That's fascinating.

Speaker B: Yeah, he really helped me a lot.

Speaker A: That's something I've noticed even in my division, the Lanky division, I guess people are doing wrestling now.

Speaker A: I think that's just kind of like how footwalks were the thing, wrestling.

Speaker B: In that division.

Speaker B: A couple of years ago.

Speaker B: Everybody was pulling guard immediately.

Speaker B: And so I've noticed that a little bit too.

Speaker B: Even.

Speaker B: Honestly, even in my division, the smaller girls, I truly expect the pool immediately.

Speaker B: And that did not happen this weekend nearly as much as it was.

Speaker B: So that may be a transition that's happening.

Speaker A: Maybe an answer to the quick movements that we saw.

Speaker A: I don't know.

Speaker A: I know the Nationals back in 2020, it was really nobody wanted to pull, nobody wanted to wrestle.

Speaker A: And I guess that's just an answer to that, I suppose.

Speaker B: Yeah, I think so.

Speaker B: I think it's a little bit of a change.

Speaker A: Always evolving.

Speaker A: You can never say hey.

Speaker A: I've learned everything about Jujitsu.

Speaker B: No.

Speaker B: And that's what makes it so fun.

Speaker B: I go to Plaza sometimes, and it's things I've never seen.

Speaker B: And I'm always just amazed.

Speaker A: Oh, yeah, for sure.

Speaker A: It's literally human chess or aggressive murder.

Speaker A: Yoga.

Speaker B: Yoga, I think, is my favorite.

Speaker A: So your kids, they got you into Jujitsu.

Speaker A: How did they get you in?

Speaker A: Did they just pull you onto the mats to get you in it, or what was that like?

Speaker B: Samantha was five when she started, which she's my oldest, and actually the hospital worked at a friend of mine.

Speaker B: Her husband taught the classes, and her son and my daughter were pretty much the same age.

Speaker B: They're just a few months apart.

Speaker B: And we always know that she was a super rough one when she was little.

Speaker B: She was very aggressive.

Speaker B: I'm not mean just very playful and very aggressive, I guess is the best way to describe it.

Speaker B: But anyway, she had made the comment that I needed to bring her to do just to give her a place to get all of that energy out.

Speaker A: Very self aware.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker B: And I'm like, no, that's a good idea.

Speaker B: And honestly, in our town, there was nothing else for them to do at that age.

Speaker B: Soccer was pretty much it.

Speaker B: And so anyway, she started and just loved it.

Speaker B: It did exactly what she said it was going to do for her.

Speaker B: It kind of calmed her down a little bit, gave her a place to be rough, but also taught herself discipline because he was really good up with the little ones.

Speaker B: Even once they learned a few things about they now had to transition into helping the smaller kids.

Speaker B: And so he really did a good job, not just teaching them to do just a few, but also kind of role modeling for them on how to be a good training partner even at that little age.

Speaker B: And so she had started and they had a tournament, local tournament that we went and watched.

Speaker B: And she said, Mama, I'm never I do not want to do that.

Speaker B: That is scary and I don't want any part of that.

Speaker B: Anyway, I was teaching fitness classes at that gym at the time as well.

Speaker B: And one day it was a holiday, maybe I had my class, but regardless, nobody showed up.

Speaker B: He was like, Come on, get on the mat with us.

Speaker B: I was like, all right, I guess I could do this.

Speaker B: And I loved it.

Speaker B: I mean, fell in love immediately.

Speaker B: And so I did it in order to kind of motivate her to go to tournament for us to be able to compete together and have something to do together.

Speaker B: But I definitely loved it way more than she does.

Speaker B: And they compete in the NHS tournament a couple of months ago.

Speaker B: And I actually did really well, even despite the break that they kind of have planned softball about a year after that.

Speaker B: My youngest was three, turning four, and Eric had started teaching at the time at that gym.

Speaker B: And they loved him.

Speaker B: They think he walks on water, can do no wrong.

Speaker B: They absolutely adore him.

Speaker B: And so he actually pulled her on the map before her fourth birthday and let her kind of get in and do because she had been sitting there the whole time watching her older sister have fun and has been wanting to train, wanting to get on the mat.

Speaker B: So she started talking at the best.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker B: And what has loved it ever since as well, it kind of did the opposite for her.

Speaker B: She started treatment.

Speaker B: She turned four.

Speaker B: And probably a few months after that, I got a text from the daycare she's always been kind of small for her age.

Speaker B: And anyway, I got this text from the daycare that, quote, the self defense classes Brianna has taken are working.

Speaker B: And I was like, oh, my goodness, what has happened?

Speaker B: When I pulled into the daycare, they pulled me to the side and they're like, look, there's this little boy that has been being really hateful to her on the playground.

Speaker B: He's been pushing her and really just basically bullying her.

Speaker B: And he's a lot bigger than her.

Speaker B: And they said today when he pushed her.

Speaker B: She was trying to walk away from him and he pushed her forward.

Speaker B: And then he said she spun around and grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him down into her yard and she just held him there.

Speaker B: And finally he said, ask her if she was going to let him go.

Speaker B: And she said, I don't know.

Speaker B: Are you going to quit messing with me?

Speaker B: And they said he was a changed boy after that.

Speaker B: He wasn't messing with me.

Speaker A: Oh, my gosh, girl.

Speaker A: Man, that's a killer right there.

Speaker A: I love it.

Speaker A: I love it.

Speaker B: She got in the car and she was a mama.

Speaker B: I know I'm not supposed to do jiujitsu outside of Jujitsu, but Parker Ray was just messing with me and I had had enough.

Speaker B: I'm like, you're fine, you're fine.

Speaker B: That's why you're going to jujitsu right there.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker B: You don't have to deal with stuff like that.

Speaker B: So anyway, it calmed my older one down and made her a little more respectful.

Speaker B: And then it kind of brought my youngest one, who didn't have quite as much self confidence.

Speaker B: It just gave her an insane amount of self confidence.

Speaker A: That is amazing.

Speaker A: I love how you had two different reactions.

Speaker A: That just kind of goes to show, like jujitsuk and just about fit for anybody.

Speaker B: It wasn't another thing.

Speaker B: Keith was at Samantha's.

Speaker B: She's going into middle school this year and so she had her Beta Club induction and all the kids were super shy and want to get up in front of everybody.

Speaker B: Some of them are real tearful, having to just walk out in front of a room full of people.

Speaker B: And he was like you could just see the difference in the confidence.

Speaker B: And Samantha walked up there, got her award, small, went sat down.

Speaker B: I just think it was so much for them.

Speaker A: Oh, for sure.

Speaker A: It sounds like it's amazing.

Speaker A: I know they say sports are great for kids to get involved because it does build self confidence, but I don't know, maybe I don't have children yet.

Speaker A: But from what I've seen and what I'm just hearing, you share your stories, raising your children, it seems like you just have that little extra special sauce to just bring out some really good positive aspects or shine a light on where, hey, we need to work on this.

Speaker A: We need to maybe tone this down so that you can actually listen and be respectful or hey, you can actually do this.

Speaker A: You can do more than you think.

Speaker B: It really forces that, and I see that too.

Speaker B: There's a lot of kids at the gym that we train with that we train at, and you can tell the difference between the kids that train and the kids that don't and just how they behave.

Speaker B: They take instruction.

Speaker B: Their mine are not perfect.

Speaker B: They're definitely me and Jesus talk daily about their progress when comparing the way other kids behave and things like that, you just see such a big difference.

Speaker B: And even our coaches at Vida, his kids, they're respectful, they listen when they're told to do something.

Speaker B: And some of the other kids that kind of hang out there, their parents train, but they don't train, you see just a big difference.

Speaker A: So my question would be because I have seen a lot of parents who don't let their kids train.

Speaker A: I'm wondering maybe why there's a disconnect there, but maybe they think they're too young, you think?

Speaker A: Or is there an age kind of issue there, you think?

Speaker B: I've noticed a lot of gyms are going towards the three and four year old classes, which I think are wonderful.

Speaker B: And I've actually kind of talked to my professor a little bit about it with the ages.

Speaker B: And, you know, there's a difference.

Speaker B: There's a big gap, I think, sometimes in how kids mature.

Speaker B: Like two, three year olds are not in the same place, you know what I mean?

Speaker B: So I think you try it and you put them in the tiny tights or the I can't even remember what grade Paul says, but basically the three and four year old class and see how they do.

Speaker B: But I think it's better now that they're offering a lot of these gyms are offering the classes for the younger kids because it gives the professor time to kind of break it down.

Speaker B: Because what a three year old can do versus what a five year old is ready to do as far as taking instruction is completely different.

Speaker B: You know that as a teacher.

Speaker A: Oh, yeah, for sure.

Speaker B: It comes to completely different curriculum.

Speaker B: So I think you'll see it more now that a lot of gyms are offering that.

Speaker B: And I know I hate to take on boys, but I see it more with boys.

Speaker B: I think that boys sometimes need to be a little older before they start, sometimes on the kids.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: But I think with having the little classes that they have now for the younger ones, I think it helps a lot.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think so too.

Speaker A: The youngest we go, I think is five right now just because we don't have enough manpower to go lower.

Speaker A: But yeah, I've noticed it seems like if you get a girl in at that age, at least they tend to respond better.

Speaker A: And that's just from me observing the classes that we have here.

Speaker A: There's, of course, more little boys who want to wrestle around, but the girls have way better technique because they'll listen.

Speaker B: I've always enjoyed watching Brennan I joke, I say her guard is way better than mine, but I think it's because she was so little starting and had bigger training partners, so she kind of learned how to recompose under a lot of pressure.

Speaker B: Yeah, I agree.

Speaker B: Sometimes I watch her technique and I'm like that's.

Speaker B: What irritated by that?

Speaker B: I don't tell her that, but I'm thinking it right.

Speaker A: And these are the kids that when they get their black belts, they're in their early twenty s these phenomena, it's like, dang, I don't want to be in that division.

Speaker B: They are definitely special.

Speaker B: You see that to a black belt.

Speaker B: You just see a big somebody who started when they were four versus somebody who's an adult black belt, but got a later starting life.

Speaker A: For sure.

Speaker A: And that's another thing too, is that you have the young ones and you have Jujitsu grandma.

Speaker A: It's the whole age fan.

Speaker A: You can do it for the whole of your life or start it late in life.

Speaker A: She's a blue belt, so she just picked this hobby up.

Speaker A: She's like, I am tired of being in retirement.

Speaker A: Let's do something mildly physically demanding, I suppose.

Speaker B: And I love that we have an older lady that started at the same time as me and it's been huge for her.

Speaker B: Also been watching her progress.

Speaker B: And anybody can do jiu jitsu.

Speaker B: That's one of the things I really love about it is you can see successful competitors and they're not built the same, they don't do the same thing.

Speaker B: They have their specific game that they're super successful at and it's dependent on your body type and your strengths and weaknesses and all of that.

Speaker B: But it can be tailored for anybody.

Speaker B: If you're willing to do the work and explore things, you can be successful for sure.

Speaker A: I know.

Speaker A: I'm reading this book called Relentless and it talks about how have you read that?

Speaker B: I have listened to it and it is fantastic.

Speaker A: Oh, it's great.

Speaker A: It's the mentality.

Speaker A: Your body can do so many things, but we tell ourselves, oh no, you can't do that.

Speaker A: Or you got to calm the inner darkness or the dark side.

Speaker A: Yes, I love it.

Speaker A: I love it.

Speaker A: It makes me feel like I can do anything.

Speaker A: Maybe be relentless.

Speaker A: But I can tell just getting on the mats, like if you have the mentality of being that cleaner of you were going to do whatever it takes.

Speaker A: Those are the people who win.

Speaker A: They may be not as strong as you, but if they've got that killer mentality, they're going to win well, and.

Speaker B: They'Re doing the work behind it.

Speaker B: You don't see these super successful black belts that you watch that you oh my goodness, they're so amazing.

Speaker B: You don't see the hours and hours and hours of rolling that they do, and the hours and hours of study and film that they do see.

Speaker B: And then on top of training, on top of having a physical fitness program, also, they're not eating at McDonald's five days a week and they're doing the thing and that's what set them apart.

Speaker A: Oh, yeah, for sure.

Speaker A: I mean, it's also that concept of deliberate practice.

Speaker A: Or to quote well, this is the Sarah pair phrase version with Bruce Lee.

Speaker A: Don't fear the man who knows a thousand techniques.

Speaker A: Fear the man who knows one technique.

Speaker A: And has done it 1000 times.

Speaker A: It's just getting that muscle memory.

Speaker A: That's when you're realizing, jeez, this is a different animal.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker B: And a lot of my learning style is drilling.

Speaker B: Like, for example, that take down or that knee cut has been drilled at least 2 million times.

Speaker B: At least.

Speaker B: My husband, he hates it, but he is very willing to do he will let me do my job over and over again and then we slowly will increase the pressure.

Speaker B: Or maybe he's trying for a single leg and I defend and go.

Speaker B: But that book is kind of where some of those concepts came from, though, when he talks about the drills that he would put them through and they would have to do all these certain things to build practice, to build strength, but also confidence in what they're doing.

Speaker B: I think some of that we're kind of moving away from that in today's society.

Speaker B: Which is a little scary.

Speaker B: Yeah, everybody which rest is important.

Speaker B: I'm terrible.

Speaker B: I hate rest days.

Speaker B: I'm trying to work on that myself.

Speaker B: But you also have to like you have to have a little rest, but you also have to push, push, push right.

Speaker B: To get to the next level.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker A: I don't know when I think about jujitsu and I've talked to some people about it here, especially, like, my students, because my students know I do jiu.

Speaker A: Jitsu kind of a deal.

Speaker A: And they said, hey, what belt are you now, Ms.

Speaker A: Willis?

Speaker A: I said, I'm still a blue belt.

Speaker A: Well, Dang, how long have you been doing jujitsu?

Speaker A: I said, well, we don't get a black belt, baby, until about ten years in Dang.

Speaker A: I don't know if I could do that.

Speaker A: It's like that's kind of the point, though.

Speaker A: It weeds out people who are looking for that quick, you know, belt factory kind of style of martial art and and know, you I see it in teaching.

Speaker A: They just expect an easy grade or they expect it to be no work to get better.

Speaker A: It's like, no, it's going to be some work you're going to have to read.

Speaker A: I'm sorry, it's literature class.

Speaker A: But I have seen that shift that you're talking about.

Speaker A: But I don't think all hope is lost.

Speaker A: It's just we got to reinstall it, so to speak.

Speaker B: Yeah, well, I think that was another big reason for me doing due to it, too.

Speaker B: I think sometimes parents tend to focus on providing for their children versus demonstrating what they would like their children to do.

Speaker B: And so mine did not do it with you jitsu.

Speaker B: They do not love you jitsu like I do.

Speaker B: But I see now that they transition to softball.

Speaker B: This morning we got up and ran sprints and my older daughter was passing us up, no problem, where if it was anything else, she's getting ready for a softball game this weekend.

Speaker B: So if there was anything else, I would have just have to drag.

Speaker B: Her out of it.

Speaker B: Her coach gave her some drills to do with the baseball bat and so our softball bat.

Speaker B: It's the same thing, though.

Speaker B: Like literally those repetitions is what's going to make you successful.

Speaker B: So they've seen me do that with you just because we have that.

Speaker B: So if I couldn't make it to the gym, we could pull them out in the living room and keep an eye with drill.

Speaker B: But now they're doing that.

Speaker B: They've transitioned those same habits over to a different sport where they're out on the carport doing their bath wings that they were told to do so that whenever they get to the game on Saturday and they're nervous and they see that strike coming and they can hit the ball the right way, but then they drilled it the whole week before.

Speaker A: Yes, they recognize it.

Speaker A: They know what to do.

Speaker B: It all transitions.

Speaker B: But I think it's super important.

Speaker B: And I have two kids that are nine and eleven, so I'll let you know in a few years if I was right.

Speaker B: I think it's important to demonstrate what to do.

Speaker B: My dad did that.

Speaker B: My dad and I have very similar personalities.

Speaker B: Like when he decides he's doing something, like he's going and there's not a lot you're going to do to hold him back, it's not going to be the work aspect that hold him back.

Speaker B: And so anyway, I picked up on that from him, and I'm hoping that my pick up on that from me.

Speaker B: I've seen a little bit.

Speaker B: If it's something they really want, they're going after it.

Speaker A: Even because I know teenagers, because I teach predominantly teenagers, they're going rebel.

Speaker A: But give it, you know, maybe five years after get them into college or little after colleges.

Speaker A: Oh, man, I didn't realize that's.

Speaker A: Mama right there.

Speaker A: You know, it'll come back to them.

Speaker A: If it goes away, everything you do is going to come back.

Speaker A: So whether they like it or not, if you're instilling that work ethic I'm sorry, what?

Speaker B: You say that?

Speaker B: Because I'm scared of those years.

Speaker B: I'm just going to be honest.

Speaker A: I'm talking to Ben, and we have a teenage girl at our gym, and he doesn't like the sassafras she gets.

Speaker A: And I say, Ben, and you think you're ready for kids?

Speaker A: Knowing us, we're probably going to have the sassiest pants on the planet because that's just how we are.

Speaker A: She or he will be incredibly sarcastic and smart.

Speaker B: And I'm like, I know where that came from.

Speaker B: Literally something responsibility for that.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker A: They say the darndest things and do the darndest things, too.

Speaker A: They're little mirrors, for sure.

Speaker B: They are.

Speaker B: They keep you humble, for sure.

Speaker A: Oh, yes.

Speaker A: Because they will tell you if you don't look good, they'll tell you what's wrong with your face?

Speaker A: I just don't put makeup on today.

Speaker A: Leave me alone.

Speaker B: Sure.

Speaker A: I would say, all in all, I think what I've noticed in our conversation, it seems like you're really petitioning for kids to start early if they can.

Speaker A: Of course.

Speaker A: With Juju jitsu, it just sounds like there's so many benefits.

Speaker B: Yes, I agree.

Speaker B: And I really think that's made a big part in their lives as well.

Speaker B: And it's not just for jujitsu.

Speaker B: Like, I see it in their school work and now that they're doing softball and just their confidence in how they carry themselves with their friends, too.

Speaker B: So I honestly think everyone should do just no matter how old they are.

Speaker A: Sure.

Speaker B: I think it's really important for kids to get started or something like that.

Speaker A: It just sounds like it's so many carryovers, obviously, physical health.

Speaker A: It's so much better for them to do that.

Speaker A: I love video games, but it's so much better for them to be physically active than just sitting down playing games.

Speaker A: And then, of course, mental because they'll learn how to deal with people bullies or just confidence in that regard, too.

Speaker B: I'm sorry.

Speaker A: I was just saying I really wish I had it growing up.

Speaker B: Oh, me too.

Speaker B: It puts you in stressful situations, you know what I mean?

Speaker B: Like, it puts you in situations to kind of put pressure on you, and you learn how to deal with that, and it transcends into different areas of your life.

Speaker B: I don't know that I would have had the confidence to go back to school for CRM school if I hadn't had jujitsu, which I know when you make that statement, people who aren't doing jujitsu kind of think that's crazy, but it just builds so much confidence.

Speaker B: And, you know, at the end of the day, when you started the whiteboard and you can't even do a front roll, that was people were so cool when they were front rolling across the map.

Speaker B: I was like, I'll never be able to do anything like that.

Speaker B: But then as you grow and you learn the movements and you're able to do way more than you ever thought possible, like, that confidence.

Speaker B: It's not arrogant.

Speaker B: There's a difference.

Speaker A: It's confidence.

Speaker B: It transcends into your job, your school, or whatever else is in your life, transitions into your relationships and your marriage or how you handle your kids and how you handle stress.

Speaker B: Overall, to me, I just feel like it's made me a much better, more patient person overall.

Speaker A: If that's not just a public service announcement for everyone to get into the gym, I don't know what is.

Speaker B: Come to me.

Speaker B: I'll convince you.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker A: Well, I just wanted to wrap this up because I don't want to take too much up of your time, but thank you so much for sharing a little bit of your experience both as a mom and as a competitor.

Speaker A: I really appreciate that insight.

Speaker A: I know that our listeners will as well.

Speaker A: And anything coming up in your life that you want to maybe broadcast anything you got going on big, other than.

Speaker B: Obviously cRNA school, I am doing well in the 1 September and so I've got a couple of tournaments between now and then.

Speaker B: But that's like the big thing coming up.

Speaker B: I didn't think I was going to get to do it because of school, but they were able to work it out where I could go anyway, so that's what I have coming up.

Speaker A: Well, awesome.

Speaker A: I know that I'll be certainly wishing you luck and thanking God you're not in my division.

Speaker B: Oh, I really appreciate that.

Speaker A: Well, have a great rest of your day.

Speaker A: Be safe.

Speaker A: Enjoy July 4 weekend with your family.

Speaker A: Send them our love, all that good stuff.

Speaker A: Absolutely will.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker B: I appreciate it.

Speaker B: I enjoy this.

Speaker A: Bye.

Speaker A: Thank you.