The lady I am getting ready to introduce to you has to be one of the most interesting people I have chatted with in a while. She is a lady with a goal and a dream and in my opinion she is going to make BIG thing happen for women in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She is the owner/ceo of Just A Girl BJJ. Her name is Leslie Rials. She is a real inspiration to me to go after my goals and dreams and never give up.MMABeats: What inspired you to start Just A Girl BJJ?Leslie: When I started this website, my intention was to do a blog about females in Jiu Jitsu. The blog was also intended to serve as a way to look back on my journey to achieve my Black Belt in Jiu Jitsu and to get in put from other women who may be experiencing some of the same things I was....being small, being paired up with big men, being older, dealing with the feeling of suffocation and sweat dripping in your eyes lol. http://www.justagirlbjj.com/1/post/2013/04/jiu-jitsu-journey.html And the blog continued.....It was called "One Blue Belt" which was how my "Brown Belt" boyfriend would refer to me when he wanted me to do something for him. After about a year of blogging I thought maybe it was time to change the name since I had no intention of staying "One Blue Belt" I put the word out for help and received many cute name ideas, Just a Girl in a Jiu Jitsu World seemed to fit just right! (thank you to my Daughter Tori for that one) http://www.justagirlbjj.com/1/post/2013/01/who-am-i-help.html A friend of my daughters drew the little girl logo just for fun and sent it to me. When I posted it on the site, I instantly had several requests for a shirt with the girl on it. Just a Girl was born! I started making several different items with my logo and it was crazy but, they really took off! I still do my blog but, mainly JAG has turned into a Female BJJ Store! I'm hoping to get more women interested when they see you can be a "Girl" and still do Jiu Jitsu MMABeats: How long have you been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Leslie: I have been training BJJ for about 3 years now and teaching an all womens class for about 1 1/2 years. Prior to BJJ I was a competitive gymnast for over 10 years and studied boxing & kick boxing for about 2 years.MMABeats: What Words of advice would you give to young ladies wanting to compete in BJJ?Leslie: Competing can be very stressful! And I have to say it's not for everyone! I'm a wreck prior to a tournament (everytime!) but, the amazing feeling of accomplishment when its over is indescribable! I strongly encourage competition, it makes you work harder having a goal to look forward to! It's amazing seeing the growth of women in competition in just the last few years.Ladies, give Jiu-Jitsu a try!!
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