The only girl in BJJ

Last night when class started I was the only girl.  Normally, there are several other women.

I am comfortable with almost everyone in the gym, but I felt very conspicuous.  If I gave more of a crap it might have bothered me, and it probably would have bothered me if I didn't know everyone there.  That part was fine, but as we started warm ups, I started eye balling the clock... getting nervous.  Who am I going to drill with?  Looking around the room I started crossing off the acceptable training partners list...

Too big....
Too spazzy...
Too much resistance offer-er...
Guy who is clearly uncomfortable when I pause too long in certain positions while trying to figure things out...
Sweaty guy...
Nervous kid...
Never washes his gi...

I can and will drill with anyone willing to drill with me, but I am talking about ideal partners here.

Just when I was resigning myself to sweaty guy or nervous kid two of the other girls walked in.  Relief!

Mad props to all of you girls who go it alone.  Being a woman in BJJ is hard, I can't imaging being the only one in the room ALL the time.

Easier said then done sometimes, I know.  

In other news, I have slight fluid buildup in my ear.  Going to have to drain it...  I refuse to be the girl with cauliflower ear.


Edit:  There seems to be slight confusion about this post, so I will clarify....


I fiercely love my school and all of my teammates.  Stinky, resistant or nervous.  They may not always be the ideal person for me to drill with, but I am always more than happy to do it.  =) .... but given the choice, I will always choose a female of my relative size to drill with.

And for the record, if anyone is interested in following me around and attending all classes I do, my ideal training partner is a 5'9 145 pound female black belt with impeccable hygiene and nerves of steel.

And on the off chance no one volunteers I am more than happy to roll and drill with anyone who will have me.

Cauliflower ear .... Don't do it!

I recently reviewed my stat tracker, and a surprising number of people have come this way by Googling various cauliflower ear phrases.  The two that stood out to me, were “I want cauliflower ear” and “Do girls like cauliflower ear?”

I know it’s not my business what you do with your ear, but my unwanted two cents on the matter are simply… 

Please do not permanently disfigure your ears.  I would equate purposefully giving yourself cauliflower ear to giving yourself a grotesque, 3D tattoo on your face.  It will never go away.  You will regret it when you are older.  It does not make you look awesome.  Girls do not like it… well, at least not this girl, nor any other female that I’ve ever spoken to on the matter, and it would seem that girls who do not themselves fight have no idea how people get cauliflower ear.  So, any impression you were hoping to give about being an awesome fighter will be all but lost on them.  Besides, if a girl does like cauliflower, and chooses to date you based on the fact that you have it… Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t base a relationship on something as earth shatteringly deep, as cauliflower ear.  Don’t do it.  Please.  Your mother will thank you.  

And to those of you who came this way wondering how to drain your ear, or how often to do it, I can point you in the right direction…. Georgette's World This information worked well for me.  I had some fluid buildup in my ear, and by following these instructions, my ear is very happily free of deformation.

How to Drain Your Cauliflowering Ear - By Georgette Oden

Thanks Georgette for the how to on draining cauliflower ear!


"I used insulin needles. I went to Walgreens at the pharmacy counter and asked for the tiniest gauge needles they had; a sack of 10 syringes with super-teeny needles was like $2.50.

I also bought a box of alcohol pads that happened to have anesthetic in there too. (No harm in being a pain-weenie.)

I carefuly wiped all around the inside and outside of my ear and let the pad sit for a minute or so on the place where the fluid was filled up, so the novacaine could soak in if it was going to. (As it turns out, it doesn't numb your ear, at least not that I could feel. But the needle prick isn't all that painful either.)

Depending where the fluid pocket is, you'll need to play around with where to stick the needle. Pull all your hair back and use bobby pins so you have a very clear view and do this in front of your bathroom mirror. Take all the protective caps off the syringe, needle-end and plunger-end. Work the plunger in and out a little bit so it doesn't stick, and I left the plunger out about .5cc so there was some airspace the fluid could flow into.

You'll want to put the needle in all the way, and have the tip of the needle in the middle of the deepest part of the fluid. The hardest part is actually penetrating your skin (the top layer is tough!) Sometimes, just getting into the ear is enough to get the blood/fluid draining. Sometimes, you need to get the needle in and then pull the plunger back bit by bit.

If nothing at all comes into the chamber when you pull the plunger a bit, you may need to change the angle of the needle relative to the pocket of fluid, or maybe pull the needle out a tiny bit to get less deeply into the pocket, or ick, you may need to change where you pierce the skin entirely.

Sad to say, you'll get a good feel for that particular pocket over the next day or two, and you'll find a place and angle that reliably works. That one "stick site" will become sore but the feeling of relief and the lack of vegetableness of your ear will be worth it.

FYI-- sometimes, the fluid is bloody (even really dark red) and sometimes it's clear-yellow serum. Usually, it starts out with a droplet of blood- then a bunch of serum- then the tail end of that draw will be blood, which actually looks pretty cool as it swirls into the serum. Sorry, I guess I'm twisted.

Make sure you use an alcohol pad to pinch against the stick site again, and hold it tightly for a minute or so to stop any residual bleeding. Also make sure you bend the needle back (pressing it against the floor or a hard nonscratch surface) and then re-cap it so no one can reuse it."  -  http://georgetteoden.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-to-drain-your-cauliflowering-ear.html

Cauliflower ear .... ?

I talked to someone this weekend about cauliflower ear.

He said his got worse when he wore the ear protection because it was constantly rubbing his ear a little bit vs the random banging while grappling... well, wrestling in his case.

Now I don't know what I should do.

I am going to drain the little bit of fluid that is in my ear right now... Or I should say that Allie is going to do it for me.  (Thanks girl!  That's real love right there.  lol)

So, does anyone have any input on cauliflower ear...  Any tips on how to not let my ear get all Randy Couture?

Here is what it looks like right now... It's not bad yet.  I doubt people would even notice unless I pointed it out, but still... I don't want it to get any worse.  I have a weird shaped ear to begin with, so I circled the cauliflower-ing area... hehe  (Warning:  If you click the picture my face gets huge. lol)