Oympian inspires Female Fighters Weekend

Female martial arts fighters may be in a minority, but they can often be enthusiastic and dedicated, according to Olympian Sophie Cox.

Two such women have got together to organise a weekend camp specially for females, taking place at Kendal Judo Club 11th – 13th July.

This exciting three day camp will be a chance for interested women to share, learn and enjoy aspects of the martial arts based around the grappling techniques of Brazilian jujitsu and judo, with great quality instructors, at a professional venue set in the Lake District town of Kendal.

The organisers, Rosi Sexton and Sophie Cox, are excellent examples of what women can achieve in what is often thought of as a mainly male discipline. Rosi Sexton has black belts in Tae Kwondo and TJF jujitsu, and brown belt in Brazilian jujitsu, and was a Cage Warriors World Champion in 2005.

She is also a sports therapist, osteopath, mathematician and writer for Fighters Only magazine. She became interested in martial arts for self defence in her teens, and now fights competitively in MMA. Rosi recognises that the fighting itself interests some women, but also says “a lot of women are starting to train now to develop self-confidence, or just because they enjoy the training”.

Sophie is a two times judo Olympian and 4th Dan, is experienced in Thai boxing, and recently extended her skills by getting a blue belt in Brazilian Jujutsu. With a degree in Health and Exercise Science, she is an international level coach, sports mentor and works with schools, youth and women’s organisations to promote self-development through sport.

She explains “This camp came about through one of those “why not” moments, we saw that training camps were happening in other countries and British based ladies were often travelling to attend them. Also, the BJJ community has really banded together to run female only training session across the country so women can get together to train with others their own grade and weight.

The idea of mounting the first female-only fighters camp in the UK is to give woman a chance to share ideas, work together to improve their knowledge and train together with people of a similar level, across all levels of experience and ability. It should also be plenty of fun!”

Kendal Judo Club has been a regular venue for international training camps, used as the holding camp for the Oceania Olympic team before the 2012 Olympics and often hosting the British Judo team. The mat area can accommodate up to 200 people. There is bed and breakfast accommodation on site, as well as plenty of other options in the area.

Rosi and Sophie plan a full weekend combining skills training with psychology and nutrition workshops, with some outdoor activities and social fun. A Saturday night BBQ should be a great opportunity for attendees to compare interests and experiences.

You can get more information from http://www.judo4all.com or by emailing Sophie at
fightingfitjudo@gmail.com or calling her on 07563541473.