Emily Molina’s parents enrolled her in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so that she could get outside of her comfort zone, make new friends, and develop a little bit more of an edge.
“Emily is the only girl in our family and I got her involved in Jiu Jitsu, in part, to toughen her up some. Her brother plays rough, and I wanted to equip her with the skills to deal with him and any potential bullies. She’s also very introverted, so I thought this might help her to be less shy.”
These are the words of her mother, Mayra. Emily is not unlike other 7-year-old girls that are shy, introverted, and don’t necessarily make friends just by walking into a room. Training in Straight Blast Gym’s Kids Jiu Jitsu program has exposed Emily to kids of different backgrounds, races, and personalities. She is not only interacting with them vocally, but she’s out there wrestling and submitting them too!
Kids Jiu Jitsu Coach Woo Ko said this about Emily:
“She’s one of the sweetest kids we’ve ever had on the mats. She was so shy at first but after a couple of weeks, you could see her starting to come out of her shell. Emily makes my job so much easier due to her listening skills, and when it comes time to take action she jumps right into the mix.”
Emily is part of the Chimpanzee age group, which consists of children ages 5-8. At 7.5 years old, the Jiu Jitsu coaches look to Emily to help lead by example. She has already begun doing so through her actions, and the coaches are confident that in the future she’ll start doing so with her words too.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Coach Randy Garcia said this:
“She’s still very quiet but every week she gets a little bit more vocal. As her confidence in her Jiu Jitsu continues to grow I bet she’ll begin to use her voice to lead the other kids more.”
Emily has a bright future in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. When asked about what Emily likes most about training in Straight Blast Gym Buford’s Kids Jiu Jitsu program, her mother said this:
“Her favorite part of training at SBG Buford is learning new submission holds and then coming how to show them to me. She was really excited to choke me last week, lol.”
