Meet The Woman Behind Canberra Girls Jiu-Jitsu
May 26, 2024 · Jeanella Lim
“I started a group chat with a couple of girls from other gyms that I had met at previous comps and floated the idea past them of an Canberra Girls open mat, which got heaps of positive feedback and support sprinkled with lots of emojis.
Now that I knew other girls were interested, I approached the coaches of BJJ gyms across Canberra. Each coach was 100% behind it - offering their spaces for free, promoting the open mat events to their ladies, and even chucking on a barbecue for us! The rest is history!”
Meet Jenae, the woman behind Canberra Girls Jiu-Jitsu—an Instagram page dedicated to bringing together like-minded women in BJJ and providing a safe and connected space to train.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jenae directly through Instagram. It was absolutely by luck that we had connected the way we did and we maintained contact (as you would) by liking and commenting on each other’s posts. What truly drew me to Jenae was her positive attitude and the fact that all the women in the Canberra Girls Jiu-Jitsu page can only truly speak so highly of her. So of course, I had to ask for Jenae’s permission to interview her so that you, the reader, could learn more about her BJJ journey.
3 Things Jenae Always Takes to BJJ Training
My first question was of course, what made her decide to get into BJJ.
Jenae answered by stating, “I have always been a bit of a sporty and rough girl (growing up with an older brother and lot of boy cousins does that to you) and I felt my energy matched some kind of martial arts; however, I was too anxious about walking into a gym full of jacked up guys and looking silly. My partner convinced me to go to one Muay Thai class and I quickly realised all my fear was for nothing - everyone was so kind and never had more fun in my life. After I did a couple of ligaments and broke my ankle, I realised my body was not made for Muay Thai but I didn’t want to give martial arts away. I had watched a little bit of BJJ, so thought I would give it a whirl. My friend had posted about a beginners class at CBR MMA and the moment I started my first class I realised this was the sport I had been looking for my entire life! Although I was the only girl at the time, every single person made me feel so welcome and put in so much effort to see me learn, grow and succeed. I quickly saw myself go from a super anxious girl with low self esteem to someone who was confident in herself and her abilities, both inside the gym and out. I was addicted to how interesting the sport was, the people I got to see each week that I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and the way it made me feel about myself.”
More than 3 years later, Jenae is now a blue belt in BJJ and continues to train and support the women in her community. So of course, I had to ask her to tell me all about what sparked her idea to start Canberra Girls Jiu-Jitsu! This was her response:
“I originally came from a Muay Thai gym that would not allow cross training, which I just thought was normal in MMA. When I moved across to CBR MMA, I noticed straight away that they supported members who wanted to cross train at other gyms and it promoted such a positive culture and allowed for perspective in training. All the blokes were heading to different BJJ gyms or wrestling gyms, forming great friendships - it was mad to see!
I realised that the only time Jess, Lara and I ever got to meet any other BJJ girls was when we were competing against them. Straight after the match, we would chat to whoever we competed against, realise they were lovely and would stay in touch.
Jenae (Left) and Jess (Right)
The seed for the idea of Canberra Girls Jiu Jitsu began when Jess and I both competed against an amazing lady named Teegan. Teegan smashed us both at comp and we were mind blown at some of her tech. We were so keen to roll with her to continue to challenge ourselves, so we introduced ourselves and set up a time to meet with her at her gym. It was a great session and made us realise just how cool it was to make friends with BJJ girls outside of the comp space, where we build each other up and help sharpen each others skills.
I’m an organiser freak and couldn’t help myself, I had to get scheming so all girls in Canberra had the experience that I just had. I wanted to bring all the women together in a safe environment to sharpen their skills, to empower each other, to encourage each other to compete and challenge themselves, and most of all, be social and offer that connection across a bunch of like minded ladies!
Jenae (Left) and teammate (Right) at CBR MMA
I started a group chat with a couple of girls from other gyms that I had met at previous comps and floated the idea past them of an Canberra Girls open mat, which got heaps of positive feedback and support sprinkled with lots of emojis.
Now that I knew other girls were interested, I approached the coaches of BJJ gyms across Canberra. Each coach was 100% behind it - offering their spaces for free, promoting the open mat events to their ladies, and even chucking on a barbecue for us! The rest is history!
It’s been incredible to see our small group grow from 6 ladies to just under 60 ladies of a range of belts from white to black. I am so lucky to have met all the beautiful women I have through CGJJ that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I have never seen such a supportive bunch of women that really want to see the best for each other and that focus on friendship over competition. So grateful for every single person, as they have made my journey infinitely more fun!”
I have to thank Jenae for providing all her time and effort to write her story for us. She is remarkable in our eyes because she embodies the very core of what we do: to be the reason women in martial arts feels seen, valued, heard and loved. You can catch the women of Canberra Girls Jiu-Jitsu here to keep up to date when and where their next women's open mat will be!