Gasping for air and feeling like my ribs are as thin as paper and that they could just collapse at any moment is a terrifying situation that I sometimes find myself in.

When someone is in pain, and I can see that, I have to keep on telling myself to continue and make them tap out.

Waiting for the tap on my leg is very hard. Just sitting there hoping that I haven’t injured an opponent is something I find extremely hard to do.

When I’m competing, I regularly think to myself ‘don’t hurt this person’, but also, I don’t want to hold back. Most importantly, I think ‘don’t get yourself in a headlock!’

Being on a team where you can walk off the mats and leave all of the competitiveness behind is something I am grateful for. Being on a team where you’re not afraid to hurt someone, but you can still walk off the mats with a positive mindset makes coming and going easy. Knowing my teammate’s strengths and weakness makes sparring with them safe, it helps to know you won’t get hurt.

2017 was the year I actually got good at jujitsu. I trained all the time. I didn’t have much free time and was often exhausted from training. But this was the year I got really involved in jujitsu, and it’s lucky I did.

Little did I know my dad was planning for me to do competitions, so those extra hours of training really helped. With all the training, time and effort I put into jujitsu, I placed 2nd in South Australia. Just the thought of that still blows my mind, especially since that was my first ever competition.

-Wynter