Trend

Last night there were a total of 9 gentlemen students on the mat for the White Belt class.

Nothing particularly interesting or unusual about that.

Like always, Elizabeth was there, as was Tawha, and Koko. If things were normal that would mean that out of 12 people on the mat, 3 would have been female, or 25%.

Things, however, have been changing. For about a month there have been two teenage White Belt girls training regularly. That would have made the ratio 5 out of 14, or 36%. That would have been the best it has been in a long time, but last night even this wasn't true.

One of the teenage girls brought a friend along to watch earlier in the week. Last night she was back to train. That made it 6 out of 15; the best in years at 40%.

Perhaps this is overstating it a little. Altogether, the active male membership at the school is about 20 to 25. This makes the percentage that are female to be closer to 25% overall. Still, this is much better than it has been recently.

If anything, Jiu-Jitsu skills are more important for smaller people, especially if they are at greater risk of violent assault. Sadly, in our society, that means women. The problem is that less women than men study the art.

In any case, I call the changes in our ratio to be a positive event. Perhaps it's even a trend.