- Bethany- May Rowe
Walking into a martial arts gym for the first time is so intimidating. If your first experience of MMA was anything like mine, there wasn’t another woman in sight on the mats. In Jiu-Jitsu, I was lucky enough to have my sister as my training partner, so we were two strong from the get go. But, in the ever-wise words of Ffion Davies, “It’s a sausage fest”, and feeling like you’re truly part of a community can take a little longer than if you walk in as a man.
It can also be hard to walk into a space where you feel vulnerable. Martial arts training requires a lot of trust in your training partners. You’re putting your body in positions where limbs could be broken or you could be put unconscious. If you’re in a striking-based sport, the risk of concussion and repeated trauma to your head is also an important consideration.
Finding people who make you feel comfortable, safe and free to have fun on the mats truly levels up the experience and makes showing up feel so much easier. Some of those people will be guys, but there is no substitute for having other women in your life with the same passion. You can learn together, work through drills, get competitive with some spicy sparring and then grab a well-earned coffee afterwards.
Finding other women can feel like an uphill battle and, at times, progress seems slow, but communities are growing across combat sports like BJJ, MMA and boxing. More and more, we’re seeing women train together and achieve brilliant things in the sport. You just need to know where to look to start building those connections. So here are a few handy tips for finding your female training partners, whatever martial art you take part in.
Attend women's only events
A women’s-only seminar was one of the first places where I saw more than three women in a training room, and it was brilliant. It took place at TFT, an MMA gym in Seaham, and the brilliant Katrina Fisher organised it. She runs the gym with her husband. At the event, more than 30 women were on the mats throughout the day, sparring MMA before a BJJ seminar led by black belt Weronika Rot. It was also where I first came across Tough Cherry.
From that event, I made friendships I would never have formed otherwise, and you often see the same women at seminars across the UK. Don’t be shy about asking to swap social media or numbers. You never know when someone might be passing through your area and keen to get some training in together.
Want to find out what women’s martial arts events are happening near you? Sign up for the Tough Cherry newsletter and join the Grapple & Glow Club for updates on Tough Cherry Grapple and Glow women’s-only events around the UK.
Keep an eye out for women's only classes
More and more gyms are offering a women’s class in kickboxing or a women's only jiu jitsu class, designed to give women an entry point into the sport as a beginner where can meet other women from the get go and train in a way you feel comfortable. If you can’t tell if there’s a women's class on the roster, drop the club an email or a message on socials. Even if they don’t have one, they might know another gym that does and pass you their details along.
Where there’s a woman coaching, it’s a good sign
Social media groups and accounts
Women’s martial arts communities are definitely growing online, and you’ll often find more experienced women in the sport you practise running the seminars you’re interested in attending. Follow them and keep an eye out for any reminders they post. There are also various event promotions, such as Enyo Jiu Jitsu and Athena Empowerment boxing, that host events and competitions you can get involved in.
If you can’t find a class, why not start one?
If there isn't a women’s community at your gym yet, it might take a push from you to get one started. That said, these things rarely happen overnight. They take time and consistency, and they can be slow to build at first. If you decide to start a women’s group or help get a women’s class running, don’t worry if it takes a while to gain momentum.
It’s also worth remembering that people train for different reasons, so the community you build may look different depending on those motivations. If you’re more experienced and mainly looking for training partners, hosting a women’s-only open mat or sparring session is a great place to start. Just be sure to ask your gym for permission first and arrange for someone insured to supervise the session on the mats.
If your goal is to bring new women into the sport, launching a beginners’ women’s-only class can be a powerful way to do it. It’s incredibly rewarding when it starts to come together, but it does take time and collaboration with others who want to see the community grow.
Take the first step, and sign up for the next Grapple and Glow
Looking to get a women's combat sports event locked into your calendar? Sign up for the next Grapple and Glow event: