Being Present: How to Give Yourself the Best Present Ever
One of the many gifts BJJ has given me is the capacity to be completely and utterly present. When I’m training, whether preparing for class,
Author: Valerie Worthington
Valerie Worthington has been moving her body since before she was born, for many reasons and with many outcomes. She really started to pay attention to how, when, and why her body moves when she began training in Brazilian jiu jitsu in 1998. From then on, she became hugely invested in educating herself about how to optimize her body movement for BJJ and how to support it in doing so. She has observed that these endeavors require her to invest herself not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, fueling a particular interest in the influence on her life of these dimensions of athletic activity.
Valerie has developed as a BJJ practitioner via her own training and competition preparation, teaching and coaching other practitioners, and writing about her life as a jiu jitsu devotee through the lens of her education, personal experiences, and professional background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State University. She is a first-degree black belt in BJJ, as well as co-founder and proprietor of Groundswell Grappling Concepts. She trains at Princeton Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Princeton, New Jersey.
Most recently, Valerie is the author of How to Love a Grappler: A Guide for People Who Love People Who Love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She can be reached through her email.
Posts from this author
The Dark Teatime of the Roll: When Training Gets Derailed
There are times when my life is absolutely on point. I’m on top of things in my personal and professional arenas, my writing feels effortless,
Jiu Jitsu Physics: When Grappling Particles (and Partners) Collide
I frequently joke about something I like to call “jiu jitsu physics.” The main theorem of jiu jitsu physics reads as follows: “Given unlimited mat
6 Months Later: How to Be a Force For Good in Grappling and in the World
It’s been a little less than six months since the news story broke that two male grapplers allegedly sexually assaulted their female teammate on New
5 Ways Doing Karaoke Can Benefit Your BJJ Training
Over the weekend, I went with some friends to a karaoke bar. Not the kind where you get your own private room. The kind where
A Hotter Mess Than I Thought: 5 More Things I Wish I Had Known When I First Started Training BJJ
I had so much fun writing my last piece about things I wish I had known when I started BJJ, and I got a positive
May I Make an Observation? The Benefit of Letting Our Senses Do the Work
In my academic life, one of the courses I teach is on qualitative research methods. Qualitative methods are distinct from quantitative methods, which identify statistical
5 Things I Wish I Had Known When I First Started Training BJJ
They say hindsight is 20/20. I frequently observe, in my own training journey, and in the training journeys of others, actions that reveal how we
Why Just Do It? The Inspirational and Daunting Impact of the Mundial
Photos copyright John Cooper, Lineage Photos for the IBJJF. Another Mundial is in the books. For those of you who don’t train BJJ, the Mundial
Great Expectations: The Truth about Gender Stereotypes in Grappling
News flash: Men and women are different. (Also, water is wet.) But it can be inaccurate, not to mention detrimental to gender relations, to take
Life’s a Journey and Practice, Practice, Practice: Interview with Yoga Instructor Jen Whinnen
Yoga Instructor Jen Whinnen takes the concept of life as a journey somewhat literally, a perspective that has enhanced her life in myriad ways. The
The Secret Pact of the BJJ Fistbump
Every now and then a reader will suggest a topic for me to write about. My usual response is to thank him/her and then suggest
