Rock Climbing

Locations: Squamish, Dolomites, Fontainebleau, Paris, Frankenjura, Annot

This sport allowed me to find my limits, meet my fears and ascend that. It was the first sport that allowed me to explore the beauty of body movement and enjoy the strength and power that came from it.

Climbed four years, backpacked solo and met climbers around Europe to travel with. Amazing journey and I met great friends.

Brazilian Jujitsu

I trained jujitsu for a year and earned by blue belt with Gracie Barra Gym in Vancouver. Self- defense has made a huge difference in how I perceive the world. I did not realize how fearful I have been conditioned as a slight-build female until I started training. About about 8 months in, I was stalked and sexually assaulted by a man at 6am in the morning near my home, when I leave to go to train at the dojo. He followed me for a block in the dark, grabbed my ass and when I tried to react, he ran away. About a week after, the exact same thing happened. In the dark, I didn’t realize it was the same person and I was ill-prepared. Following me for several blocks, he kept asking “Where do you live? What’s your name?”. Before the busy street corner, when I tried to reach for my phone, he assaulted me again and ran the opposite way.

In a well lit corner with many people around, I called 911 and the police were concerned that he knew my patterns and he lived near by.

I worked with my BJJ coaches afterwards on self-defense and looked into some research studies. Papers noted that women who approached sexual predators fiercely and without hesitation were most effective in defending them off. Screaming for help encouraged predators; it was the least effective action. The police force volunteered to shadow me the next few days in case my attacker returned.

After three days, he reappeared, waiting in front of a house between my home and the bus stopped, wearing the exact same jacket and lunch bag. I stormed up to him and hit him on the head. He tried to run and the police tackled him to the ground. It was definitely the guy who followed me for the past weeks and I pressed charges.

Our gym celebrated a victory. As one of the few gyms with a female black belt professor, we actively encourage women to learn jujitsu for this very reason.