Luuca

I know this is late but I wanted to wait until I had gone to a few classes before I posted my response. Thank you all very much for your input. I was really nervous about joining a bjj school for fear that the men would not want to work with me- but as most of you stated, everyone was more than happy to roll with, and help me! The gym that I have been going to also has quite a few women my age, and they really do hang with the guys! Thanks again.

I'm extremely interested in starting Jiu jitsu, however, every school within a reasonable distance from my home/workplace is filled with men. That's not an issue for me, but I feel like it would be an issue for all of the fellows. I feel that I wouldn't be a challenge to any of them (5'5, 110 pounds of skin and bones) and that I would just be that student no one wants to work with. And I also don't want to be that girl in the back of the class. You know what I'm talking about. Maybe I'm over thinking, but I wanted to get your opinions! How do you feel about working with a woman on the mats?

I see this a lot with beginner students (although I am not a full fledged instructor, I do assist with the children's classes). Usually, it's a combination of "holy crap he's going to punch me", and "holy crap I'm going to look foolish". With that being said, could it be that maybe you lack confidence in yourself? You said you also freeze up when your dance instructor asks you to improvise-- and while I can certainly relate (because I have two left feet, don't ya know) that just shows that maybe you don't "believe in" yourself. I'm certainly not trying to call you out by the way. In fact, I think that you SHOULD feel confident in your abilities. YOU put in the time at the dojo, and YOU are the one who practices, so why wouldn't you feel great about yourself? Give yourself more credit, and don't be afraid of how you're going to look when you're sparring. ALSO, I do not know what kind of dojo you're enrolled in, but I would imagine that no one is out to knock your head off. Don't be foolish and don't forget your training, but also do not be afraid of your fellow karate kas.