Adventures in Colorado Day 2: Next Time Hope for Sunshine

My first day in Denver, I mostly saw the inside of the arena.  When I finally went outside, the sky was blue, the sun was out and the weather was perfect. Everything was crystal clear and beautiful. The air felt crisp and refreshing. Then the next morning, the day of the first GIG-Denver, I woke to a “winter wonderland” of snow.

Any other time I would have been ecstatic to go play in the snow and eat snowflakes. But NOT today! My desire to venture up to the snow capped mountains and play in the snow had manifested, but unfortunately the snow was brought to me. I didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t just snow, it was a blizzard! I never had a blizzard to deal with during a GIG event in TX, thunder storms maybe.  I wanted to cry but didn’t. I put my big girl pants on and with the support of Seth Daniels, Lana Hunter and James Bollinger, the show went on as planned.

Once we were on the road, the hazards of the situation became much more real. The roads were slick and dangerous. Thank god Seth was driving us. I wouldn’t know what to do if I were behind the wheel. The usual fifteen minute drive took us forty-five minutes. Once I saw how bad it was, I didn’t expect anyone to show up, but I was proven wrong. 

Thirty-seven women and girls bravely ventured out into the blizzard to join us. The event was amazing! It changed my perspective on a whole different level.  Seeing those smiles and hearing that laughter throughout the event as girls made new friends made it all worthwhile. Although I will admit I was disappointed that the weather had prevented the ninety-seven girls who registered from showing, but it wasn’t about the number of girls that were there. It was about the experience of those who had joined us had and how this event had helped to break down the barriers for the females in the Colorado BJJ community in a way that had never happened before. That was priceless.

Truth be told, this was also my first experience at a female event outside of Texas. I walked in blind not knowing what I was getting us into as I had never been to Colorado before nor had I ever trained with girls from the state. GIG had never hosted an event outside the state of Texas and Colorado had never had an all-female event like GIG Denver Special event. I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. 

Afterwards, all I wanted to do was to play like a five year old in the snow. I made a snow angel, but failed at making a snowman. I got altitude sickness, but survived! So in the end I got both my wishes, to play in the snow and to bring GIG to Colorado. Boom!

None of this would have been possible had it not been for awesome people like Seth Daniels, Lana Hunter, James Bollinger, Milly Malloy, Rossie Snow, Elizabeth Tran, Easton Training Center, our sponsors and all of the amazing girls of GIG in TX and CO. This was yet another historical moment for women in the art. And that is just the beginning.

More details about GIG Denver Special Event can be found at www.girls-in-gis.com/blog/girls-in-gis-denver-colorado-recap-and-photos/