Fight Like a Girl

Today I have had the great pleasure of being able to sit down to speak with the amazing Heather Raftery! Heather is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under André Galvão, and trains out of Tucson, Arizona USA. In this episode we discuss a lot of different topics, from her childhood of ‘cutting’ horses with her father and competing at cutting horse competitions, to training at the highest levels at Atos in San Diego. Again, if there’s someone you think I should reach out to, or if there’s any issues you’re experiencing with this revised format, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me. And as always, much love to you all! x ❤️ x

Today I have had the immense pleasure of sitting down to speak with the wonderful Averi Clements! Avery is a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training out of Adelaide, Australia, and is currently an author for the Jiu Jitsu Times. In this episode we discuss a lot of different topics, from starting in jiu jitsu, barriers women experience, inclusion within the sport, and some of Averi’s past. A quick note, the audio is still a bit all over the place due to our mic’s sound levels being out of sync. So I recommend listening on a lower volume to start and wait for Averi to speak before adjusting, especially if you’re using headphones or earphones, and increase as necessary. Again, if there’s someone you think I should reach out to, or if there’s any issues you’re experiencing with this revised format, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me. And as always, much love to you all! x ❤️ x

Today I have had the great pleasure of sitting down with the wonderful Jess Fraser! Jess is a female Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (usually) training out of Melbourne, Australia at Vanguard. In this episode, I try to cover off as much of Jess’s career as humanly possible, we talk about everything from finding the sport, to training and competing, injuries (CONTENT WARNING: There is a discussion about her bicep tear, it may cause emotional distress), coaching, and everything else that I could think of. A quick note, the audio is a bit all over the place due to 1. This being a telephone interview, and 2. Our mic’s levels being out of sync. So I recommend listening on a lower volume to start, especially if you’re using headphones or earphones, and increase as necessary. Due to the lockdown preventing me from travelling the UK for interviews with the women I want to interview here, I am taking the opportunity to speak to people that I wouldn’t normally be able to. At the outset of this venture, I was wholly against telephone interviews, but I’m thus far happy with how they’ve turned out. If there’s someone you think I should reach out to, or if there’s any issues you’re experiencing with this revised format, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me. And as always, much love to you all! x ❤️ x

Today I have had the immense pleasure of sitting down with the wonderful Fallon Fox. Fallon is either best known for being a pioneering trans-woman who participated in MMA against cis-women, or as the target for Joe Rogan's flimsy and prejudiced hate speech against trans women in sports. In this episode, we talk about everything from her early years in grappling sports, to her MMA Career, and trans issues in general. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did recording it. A quick note, the audio is a bit all over the place due to 1. This being a telephone interview, and 2. Our mic’s levels being out of sync. So I recommend listening on a lower volume to start, especially if you’re using headphones or earphones, and increase as necessary. And as always, much love to you all! x ❤️ x

I recently had the immense pleasure of sitting down with the wonderful Abbie O'Toole! A Purple Belt under Nick Brooks at Mill Hill, and all round lovely human being. In this episode we talk about Abbie's recent match at Grapplefest 7 against UFC Fighter Molly McCann, the hustle and bustle of her comment and message threads since, and fluffy creatures and feminism in the sport. I can't thank Abbie enough for taking the time to chat with me, and I really hope you all enjoy the podcast as much as I did making it! And as always, much love to you all! x ❤️ x