You've thought about it for a while. Maybe you walked past the window on Hollywood Blvd, saw a room full of people in gis, and kept walking. Maybe a friend told you jiu jitsu changed her life and you nodded and didn't ask where she trains.
And the questions in your head are the same ones every woman asks at our front desk. Will I be the only woman in there? Will the guys go too hard? Is it weird to grapple with men? Do I need to get in shape first?
Nobody's going to make you feel dumb for asking. We'd rather you ask than keep walking past the window.
Short version: No, you won't be the only woman. Women train in every class at RGLA, there's a women's-only jiu jitsu class every Sunday at noon, and women coach in the kids and adult programs. Grappling with men feels weird for about ten minutes, then it's just a puzzle. You don't need to be fit first. The first class is free.
Will I be the only woman in class?
No. Not in the evening classes, not in the mornings, not in Muay Thai. Women train here consistently, and you'll find them at every belt color, every age and every size, from the kids program up through the adult classes. If it's still a worry, start with the women's-only jiu jitsu class on Sundays at noon and meet everyone in one room.
Jiu jitsu was a male-dominated sport for a long time, and honestly it still tilts that way in most gyms, in Los Angeles or anywhere else. But the number of women training has grown a lot in the last few years, and what used to be "the one woman in class" is now a group that shows up together, rolls together, and doesn't need anyone to explain the grip fight to them.
Will the guys go too hard?
Not if the room is run right, and ours is. Here's how it works. The tap is sacred: anyone, any size, taps and the round stops, no exceptions. You can sit a round out anytime without a word of explanation. Tell the coach it's your first day and you'll be paired with someone who remembers theirs, and if a partner ever isn't working for you, say so and you'll get a different one.
Here's something we've noticed over the years: a room that trains with women in it has better etiquette, and that etiquette benefits everyone. The guy who learns to roll with control against a smaller partner stops muscling and starts using technique, and he gets better faster than the guy who only ever rolls with people his own size.
Respect on the mats isn't a favor to women. It's how jiu jitsu is supposed to be done.
Will someone occasionally use too much muscle? Sure. Usually a brand-new white belt who doesn't know his own strength yet. Tap, reset, and if it keeps happening, tell a coach. That's not tattling. That's how the room stays good.
Is it weird to grapple with men?
For about ten minutes, yes. Then it stops being a man and starts being a puzzle. Jiu jitsu is technical: you're thinking about where his elbow is, whether your hips are out, whether you've got the grip you need. There isn't room in your head for it to feel awkward once the round starts. Most women tell us it was the thing they worried about most and thought about least once they'd done it.
The co-ed part is one of the unusual things about this sport, and one of the best. Where else do men and women learn the same skill, in the same room, at the same level, and test technique against technique instead of size against size? A good hip escape works on everyone. That's the point.
Do I need to be fit before I start?
No. That's like saying you need to know how to swim before swimming lessons. Most women who train in our adult jiu jitsu classes started with a first day where they were out of breath in five minutes and couldn't remember which foot went where. The fitness comes from the training. It doesn't have to come before it.
What you actually need on day one: clothes you can move in, a water bottle, and a willingness to tap. Go at your own pace. Nobody's watching you. Everyone else is busy trying to remember their own hip escape.
Where did women's jiu jitsu come from?
From women who kept showing up when the sport didn't want them. Yvone Duarte was the first woman to earn a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, and she competed in Rio de Janeiro at a time when women were only just being allowed to compete. It still took years for the IBJJF to add a women's-only division, and when it arrived it had just two weight classes, with every belt level combined. Picture a white belt and a black belt in the same bracket. Those women were tough.
Now? You can't watch a fight card or a grappling event without seeing women on it, and often headlining it. Ronda Rousey, Mackenzie Dern, Ffion Davies: those are household names in martial arts. And there's a whole set of organizations built around women who train and compete: Girls in Gi, Submissions on the Shore, Medusa and Jiujitera, among many others.
Women's jiu jitsu at RGLA: what's actually here
A women's-only jiu jitsu class every Sunday at noon, women coaches in the kids and adult programs, and women in every regular class. That's the short list. The women's class is the easiest door in if you're nervous: same technique, same standards, and nobody in the room is the only one.
On the coaching side, Coach Jessica Dylan, a brown belt, coaches in the kids program and adult fundamentals, so a girl in the kids classes and a woman in her first month both get to see someone who's been where they are. That matters more than it sounds. It's hard to picture yourself at purple belt if you've never seen a woman wearing one.
Then there's Muay Thai, where the ratio of women to men is even higher than it is on the jiu jitsu side, and that includes women who coach and women who work as personal trainers. Coach Fannie has more than ten years in Muay Thai and taught in Thailand. If striking is more your speed than grappling, that's a room full of women too.
Our goal is simple: keep growing the number of women who train here. We know what self-defense and confidence do for women specifically (we wrote about why self-defense matters separately), and the way to build both is a room where you're welcome on day one and pushed by day thirty.
Come to Sunday at noon
You don't need to bring a friend, though you can. Walk in, tell the front desk it's your first class, and you'll be on the mats with women who asked every question you're asking right now.
Whichever door you pick, the Sunday women's class, a regular jiu jitsu class, or Muay Thai, the first one is free and there's no contract.
Book your free class and come find out how fast the weird part wears off.
Questions people ask
Is there a women's-only jiu jitsu class at RGLA?
Yes. Women's Jiu Jitsu runs every Sunday at noon at 5203 Hollywood Blvd. It's taught to the same standard as every other class on the schedule; the only difference is who's in the room. If walking into a co-ed class feels like too much for a first day, start here.
Is jiu jitsu good for women's self-defense?
Yes, specifically because it's built for a smaller person controlling a bigger one, including from the ground, which is where a lot of real situations end up. Muay Thai adds striking and distance. Plenty of women here train both, and either one builds real confidence fast.
Will I have to roll with men?
Not if you don't want to. The Sunday women's class is all women, and in any class you can tell the coach who you're comfortable with. That said, most women who start out avoiding it end up rolling with everyone within a couple of months, because technique is technique and the tap protects everyone equally.
Do I need to be fit or have any experience first?
No. Most people, women and men, walk in out of shape with zero experience, and that's what the beginner classes are built around. Expect to be gassed five minutes into your first class. That's normal, and it goes away faster than you'd think once you're training twice a week.
