A Pink Belt? What’s that? It’s not a real belt, is it? Pink Belts don’t mean anything in Jiu-Jitsu, do they?
I guess my first response to those questions would be – It’s not about the belt! Getting caught up in the color of a belt (no matter what the color) is the first step towards being distracted about what you are actually training for. Understanding why you are training and keeping your overall goals in mind are the most important aspects of your journey. If you lose sight of why you started training (regardless of what you are training for), then it becomes pointless.
So let me tell you a bit about the Pink Belt.
I earned my Pink Belt after I completed the Women Empowered program through Gracie University. Although the program is based on the principles of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (i.e. leverage and distance management), the curriculum focuses on teaching defense strategies against what have been found to be the 15 most common attacks on women. Just to be clear, the Pink Belt has not been added as a new belt in Jiu-Jitsu. It is a symbol of successful completion of the Women Empowered curriculum. {You can read more about the curriculum here.Read what Eve Gracie has to say about the Pink Belt here.} I’ve written before about how it can be intimidating to start Jiu-Jitsu, particularly because of the close contact that is involved in training. It would be such a shame if women did not learn basic self-defense simply because of that hesitation. I think the Women Empowered program is the perfect introduction to Jiu-Jitsu. Even if you have no interest in Jiu-Jitsu at all, I am sure that successfully learning the 15 self-defense techniques that are taught in this program will make you feel empowered — and who doesn’t want to feel empowered? Now to continue my Jiu-Jitsu journey …
[Update: My training – both jiu-jitsu in general and Women Empowered specifically – led me to study, train, and test to become a certified instructor of the curriculum. It’s by far one of the most rewarding, satisfying things I have ever done (both learning and teaching). To find out how you too can learn, please do get in touch.]
Would you know what to do if an assailant grabbed you by both wrists and tried to control or isolate you from public?
Being on the ground with an attacker between your legs and a knife held to your throat is probably one of the most terrifying positions you could ever be in — luckily, this program teaches you how to stay calm in these types of serious situations and then use a combination of timing and technique to escape.
The Women Empowered curriculum covers defense strategies that address the 20 most common attacks against women. From awareness to physical defense, the curriculum ensures that you have a strategy to implement no matter where the fight ends up.