Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu
Dive deep into the exhilarating world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with "Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu," where passion meets perspective, and the gi meets the daily grind. Hosted by a spirited novice, this podcast uncovers the intricacies, challenges, and rewards of embarking on the BJJ journey. From perfecting that elusive guard pass to sharing light-hearted tales of gi faux pas, we explore it all with a fresh and caffeinated lens. Whether you're a white belt finding your footing, or a seasoned practitioner reminiscing about your early days, this podcast offers insights, laughs, and camaraderie. Brew your favorite coffee, tie up your belt, and join us on the mats. Let's roll!
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Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu
From Homeless to World Champion: The Rise of Bad Jackie
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Imagine finding yourself homeless, addicted, and almost out of hope, only to rise and become a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion. That's the extraordinary journey of Jacqueline Young. Beginning with Jacqueline's life before jiu-jitsu, where she recalls the impact of her parents' divorce and her father's criminal actions. Her world was shattered, leading her down a dark path of substance abuse and homelessness. Jacqueline’s story is one of incredible resilience and redemption, showing how she transformed her life through the power of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
From dancing at upscale clubs and struggling with opioid addiction to finding her calling on the jiu-jitsu mat, Jacqueline's path to recovery wasn't easy. She opens up about her initial use of Percocet and the challenges she faced as her addiction deepened. Yet, it was the unwavering presence of God and her mother's inspiration in the medical field that guided her towards a healthier life. Jacqueline’s reflections on overcoming addiction through sheer willpower offer a profound insight into the strength it takes to rebuild one's life.
But the story doesn't end there. Jacqueline's journey in jiu-jitsu is a testament to her tenacity and talent. From her beginner classes to her triumphant victories at the Master Worlds championship, her dedication to the sport has reshaped her life. Jacqueline’s story is not just about jiu-jitsu; it's about the power of inner strength and the supportive network that helped her rise above her struggles. Join us for an inspiring conversation filled with hope, resilience, and a celebration of the jiu-jitsu lifestyle.
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Hello everyone, joe, here, before we begin today's episode, I want to give you a gentle heads up. Our guest, jacqueline Young, is a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, but you see, her story goes far beyond the mats. She takes us on a powerful journey through addiction, homelessness and through deep personal and family struggles. Some of these topics we'll discuss during this episode may stir intense emotions to some listeners. However, this story is one of resilience, transformation and the incredible power of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to change our lives. It's a conversation full of hope, inspiration and strength. So let's get caffeinated and I hope you enjoy. Homeless to World Champion the Rise of Bad Jackie.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white belt enthusiasm, black belt wisdom and a dash of caffeine for that extra kick. Dive deep into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we explore the journey, techniques, challenges and the sheer joy of the sport from a white belt's perspective, from intriguing interviews with renowned coaches and professors to playful fun episodes that'll have you chuckling mid-roll.
Speaker 1:We've got it all brewed and ready Now stepping onto the mats and into your ears here's your host, joe moats, and I cannot tell you how excited I am about today's episode. This is one of those episodes that's actually going to have or well, you've already heard it if you're listening to this a disclaimer at the beginning of it, because today you are going to go on a wild story with our guest. Today, here on the show we have Jacqueline Young and Jackie say hello, hello. Yeah, jackie has. She is someone with many, many titles. Okay, she is. We were joking the other day, uh, when we were together about it was game of thrones, right?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah do you know the whole line like um first of her name, queen of the like. Can you say that whole thing?
Speaker 3:I can't ever remember the whole thing I know she's like I'm queen denaris, breaker of chains, the unburnt Mother of Dragons.
Speaker 1:Look at this yeah, the Unchained something crazy. Well, jackie or Jacqueline has kind of the same mantra that follows her around. So she is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a newly promoted brown belt here in Alliance. She is a two-time master world champion. She is your pan champion as well. Right, are you pan? No, I meddled at pan meddled at pan and then she has what is it? 17 ibjjf open championships, or is there more than that?
Speaker 3:No, it's 17 gold IBJF gold medals. United States Army veteran.
Speaker 1:That's right, mother and nursing student. Nursing student. Crazy, I mean, there's not too many other titles left out there, right? No? And Jackie has a story for us and a lot of you probably clicked on this episode because of the title. It's Homeless to World Champion. The Rise of Bad Jackie. We're going to talk about the Bad Jackie part a little bit later. But yeah, just welcome Jackie, so excited to have you here. It's kind of cool. We get to do this a second time because of technical problems the first time.
Speaker 3:No, it's okay, I'm an overthinker. I really thought about it. I was like maybe I shouldn't have said that or maybe that was too much truth. But thank you for having me on. I'm honored and I'm really excited. Yeah, having me on. I'm honored and I'm really excited. Yeah, yeah me too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, I mean, you know I've heard your story. This will be the second time I've heard your story and it blows me away. And you know to those of you out there, look, if you are in the car in your morning commute and you're taking your kids to school, this might not be the episode for that, unless you've dropped them off. But you're going to go on the story with Jackie and I, so let's get it started. Jackie, let's start Talk us through a little bit about your life before jiu-jitsu, kind of just basically where you grew up, where you were born, what family life was like, and then we'll go from there.
Speaker 3:So I think it's important to start off by saying that I was raised in a normal-ish household.
Speaker 3:My parents were divorced when I was young and my mom, she, was a medical professional.
Speaker 3:Everything on her side was completely normal, and we grew up on the south side of Atlanta, in Fayette County, and when my parents divorced I always kind of knew that there was something weird with my dad, but we just never really knew what it was. And I remember when I turned 18, for some reason my mom just decided to spill this truth bomb on me about my dad. And when I was younger, my sisters and I, we always knew that my dad was a cop before we were born and we were always told oh, I didn't, you know, I quit cuz I didn't like it. And I we believed him, or at least I did. I never brought it up, but when I was 18 I just decided to one day tell me that my dad wasn't a cop anymore, not because he didn't like it, but because he was actually sodomizing the inmates that were being arrested by him. And then he spent jail, or no, he spent time in prison for it. Jail and prison are very different.
Speaker 1:Very different.
Speaker 3:And yeah, so that really rocked my world. And my dad committed sex crimes against one of my friends one day when I was having a seizure in the floor and I think that that really just kind of ruined my world, because I was only 18 when he did that 18 or 19 and um, I don't think as an adult would even know how to deal with that like their parent becoming a sex offender in their eyes and you're just kind of like, oh my god, and I never spoke to him again after that. Um, because I didn't. I mean, how do you look someone in the eyes, you know, especially a parent, and be like, wow, hey, you raped my friend when I was dying in the floor, like you didn't care about me at all. Uh, so that was really traumatic for me and and then I ran away from that by joining the military and I was in the military for a little while.
Speaker 3:Um found out I had epilepsy, so I came home and you know the military wasn't traumatic at all. I loved being in the army. Um, I was a combat medic, I was a 68 Whiskey. I did my, yeah, I did my.
Speaker 1:I still find myself wanting to say that when something cool happens, Like but I don't say it out loud, but no one would know they don't, and then they would look at you weird.
Speaker 3:Like you're making a sex noise.
Speaker 1:Exactly right. Oh my God, I never realized that.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, exactly, I guess if you, I don't want to point it out.
Speaker 1:You would, you would, but I guess it's kind of fitting Too soon. No, no, not too soon. I'll probably have a plan to deal with it. Look, we're only seven minutes in here and this is where we're at I know Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, where we're at, okay, yeah, yeah, so, yeah, all right. So, yeah, keep going. So I came home and I was taking the shower and my phone rings. And I don't know, I'm the type of person like I don't just say I'll, I'll call these people back, like I don't, don't know, I'm addicted to my phone, I always answer it and I answer my phone and I hear Faye County Sheriff's department.
Speaker 3:Do you know somebody that lives at one 40 Braymar drive? And the only thing I could say was he's dead, isn't he? And I knew he was dead because I had had a dream the month before that he was dead and, without trying to directly contact my father, I went through every avenue possible to try to indirectly check to see if he was still alive. I had my aunt drive by his house I was working in real estate at the time and I saw that he had listed the house for sale and called the listing agent to see if she had heard from the guy. Like I pretended to be an interested buyer. She's like, oh no, he's probably you know, and it's House in the Mountains. And I'm like, oh my God, my dad bought a house in the mountains. But he didn't. He bought property. So, yeah, he had been dead. He died alone in the house and he had been dead for quite some time.
Speaker 3:I went down there, there and people kept trying to warn me. Oh, you don't want to go in there, but we need you to identify the body. I'm like, well, how am I going to go in there or not go in there and identify him? But, um, they just kept trying to warn me and I'm like I wish people would. I was, I'm like, just let me do my job. And I went in there and, um it they. They weren't wrong. I'll never forget the way he looked Like I thought it was a gory Halloween mask. I thought there were, you know, thought there were bugs crawling in and out of his mouth. He was getting puffy Because when you die, your body starts to swell and, in a way, explode. How long was he in there?
Speaker 1:How long did they think he would?
Speaker 3:be Over a month.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow. Was it summer, was it summertime?
Speaker 3:No, so January 10th is when I went to the house to be like, yep, that's him, and and um, so he had probably died between November and December, cause he was already like yellow and purple and his leg fell off when they picked him up and yeah, so there was no autopsy or anything like that. We just had him cremated, and then having his ashes in my house never felt right with me, so I threw it away inside of a doggy poo bin in a apartment complex.
Speaker 3:yeah, that's how much I don't respect my my father so all of that set me off on the road to drug addiction yeah, I mean, do you mind sharing?
Speaker 1:uh, you know your your journey there into out of um, I don't mind that at all.
Speaker 3:No, I don't mind. So a lot of people believe the narrative that you know, people are born addicts and you know, like you don't ever know if you're one. It's almost like a zombie. You know, people think, oh, I can't have one drink or I'll morph into this werewolf, and then there's no turning back. And maybe for some people that is true, but for me I decided to do drugs because it allowed me to not feel anything. And being completely numb was amazing for me, because I'm a person that has big feelings, naturally, anyways. So when I went through all of that, I can't say I was more affected than anyone else would be, but I was really bad off emotionally. I don't even have the words to describe that. I was just kind of like, why would he do that? That was my dad. He gave birth to me, he wanted me. Did he even want me? Like? It was just so much. But I couldn't maintain employment and so I started dancing at the Cheetah.
Speaker 1:Okay, the plot thickens.
Speaker 3:I know I was like I've done it all.
Speaker 1:Is the cheetah still there?
Speaker 3:It's still there right, it is, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:That thing has been around forever.
Speaker 3:It has. It has the cheetah and the pink pony.
Speaker 1:That's still there too.
Speaker 3:It's been around for a long time it is, oh my gosh yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, I've never been to either one of those, but you know.
Speaker 3:There's a big difference between the two. The Cheetah is a very upscale, vegas-style, very upscale gentleman's club and they have a five-star restaurant inside called Olivia.
Speaker 1:Five-star Okay.
Speaker 3:Yes, five stars.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 3:And the Pink pink pony does not have that.
Speaker 1:They give you yeah, I mean it's not as classy right pink pony. You kind of know that, like it's scaled down, right pink pony.
Speaker 3:I mean it doesn't even sound like they went through a lot of effort naming it it's like oh no anyway, yeah, but no, I started working there because I mean all I had to do was look pretty and show up at night and dance and I mean I would make a ton of money a ton of money, but I couldn't do it if I didn't have some drinks in me.
Speaker 3:And eventually I met this dancer and she's like here, try one of these. And I was like, what is it? She's like, oh, it's a Percocet. And I was like, okay, I took half of it and, oh my gosh, I felt amazing and, um, eventually, that half of a Percocet turned into like five at one time and that turned into 20 a day, and they were five dollars a pill and that was back in like 2011, I think. So I'm sure with inflation they've gone up, yeah bridge went up, so is percocet yeah, gas prices right, yeah, hey, yeah hey, you're not.
Speaker 1:You're not getting high cheap anymore. This is 2024.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, now we've got mouths to feed. But the Percocet turned into these little blue pills called Roxacet or we would call them Roxies, called Roxaset or that we would call them Roxies, and that costs $25 a pill, and those are what you give to someone who has cancer and it's stronger than morphine, and I was doing, eventually, up to eight of those a day at $25 a pill. Yeah, wow, so, yeah, so yeah. The opiates Sorry, that's my dog. He's old and grumpy. I feel like I know him.
Speaker 1:I see him all the time on IG.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my pit bull, sam, wants to play and he's just not having it.
Speaker 1:Ah, got it.
Speaker 3:I don't want to play, but the opioids that wrecked havoc on my body so bad I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop, because there's a lethal dose. It's called LD50 in the medical field and LD50 is lethal dose 50%, and it's 50% of people died if they took this much of this drug. And I was surpassing it and I was mixing it with benzodiazepines. So a lot of my life I was spent in this like constant state of a nod, which is like you're asleep but you're—it's like a zombie. Wow.
Speaker 1:Just kind of prodging along through life were you still? Were you still working um? Were you still working at the time or had like everything?
Speaker 3:just kind of fell off when it got there, um no, I wasn't working anymore, um, dancing anymore. Dancing was soul-sucking for me. I grew up, raised in a Christian household and I really feel like, you know, I gave my life to Christ when I was a child and I was baptized and all that. And the Bible says you know, if you're raised in the way of the Lord, you may stray, but you'll always return. And I feel like, well, I don't feel, like I know that God always had a hand on me and that's why I'm still alive. So when I was working in such a sinful and degrading place like yeah, it's funny, I laugh at myself and my mistakes, but I mean on a real level like that was soul-sucking for me. And I think God was slowly like chipping away at my heart like Jacqueline, this isn't for you. Jacqueline, this isn't for you, get out of it. So I had to get out of it. I was awake all night, people were asleep all day. I didn't feel like a human being anymore, so I stopped.
Speaker 1:I want to pause right here. At any time during that phase of your life could you even imagine that you would be where you are today and in the situations you are in now?
Speaker 3:No, absolutely not.
Speaker 1:Right. Crazy how life does that? It is crazy.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 1:I've never shared my story on a podcast, but even now, sitting here and I'll be 45 in December I could never have pictured my life turning out like this. And when I talk to others who have you know these crazy stories, I just kind of like to ask them was there ever a point where you're like, oh, one day I'm going to work out, I'm going to wake up, I'm going to be a world champion, jujitsu badass with an awesome medical career? Ahead of me. You know, I'll just not to throw you off.
Speaker 3:I just wanted to ask that. Yeah, well, I mean and to go further into your to the answer to that question I always wanted to work in healthcare because of my mother. Um, she was always somebody that I looked up to. I mean, we fought like cats and dogs, but I really looked up to her and I admired her hard work and I always wanted to be a nurse. I told people I was a nurse when I wasn't even a nurse, like I mean, I was stupid, but that was my dream. But then I fell off the wagon and not only did I fall off, I think I went down into a hole and it got to a point where I was like man, this will never be a dream of mine, in fact being. I felt like I was less than someone that would ever be a nurse. Like, does that make sense? Being a nurse was too good for yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't deserve it. Yeah, I think you're. You're kind of looking at nurses as these wholesome caring about everybody but themselves, and you felt everything opposite of that.
Speaker 3:Correct. Yeah, like I would never deserve to ever be that, and like now, here I am.
Speaker 1:Right here and I am so grateful you graduate soon or did you? Graduate already.
Speaker 3:I graduate actually on my birthday, december 11th, nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right, we talked aboutth. Nice yeah, that's right, we talked about that. Nice, yeah, december is going to be a good month. Yeah, it's going to be a good month for you. It's going to be a good month.
Speaker 3:These have been amazing years for me, Just you know. I guess to continue on with my story, yeah, I guess to continue on with my story, like these years that I have changed my life. Each one just comes with even more goals accomplished and my cup runneth over. I guess you can say Like I am so fulfilled every year, every year. But you know, as I was saying, I felt like God was chipping away at my heart and I needed to clean up my act and I was poor because of all the pain pills and the money that I spent on them. I decided to quit and I did not go to a treatment facility. I thought those were stupid, because they want you to go in there and be like I'm an addict and I'm powerless over myself and my addiction, and I'm not powerless again. I didn't. That's that bad, Jackie attitude.
Speaker 3:That's that bad, jackie energy yeah, I know I'm not weak. You know I have the power and I didn't view addiction as a disease. And people might disagree with me and I still don't. You don't wake up with crack addiction. You know that's insulting to someone that has cancer. Cancer is a disease. You can wake up one day and decide to stop doing drugs. You can't wake up one day and decide I don't want cancer anymore. I love it to stop doing drugs. You can't wake up one day and decide I don't want cancer anymore. So, yeah, I just decided to quit cold turkey and I thought I was going to die. And so I decided to supplement that with a different drug so that I didn't feel the withdrawals of opiates. And then the next thing, you know, I am completely homeless because my house was raided by a SWAT team. I spent seven months in jail and I am. I have no home.
Speaker 1:So if so I know they didn't raid you because you decided to stop doing opiates. Mind sharing a little more about that.
Speaker 3:They raided my home because the roommates that I allowed to live in my apartment were selling drugs out of my apartment and somebody reported quote suspicious activity, end quote. And they were like they're coming out of this car and the car was apparently stolen. I didn't know. So they were looking for the people with tattoos, with a blonde colored dog and the blonde dog was my pit bull at the time, but yeah so so homeless now he kicked down my door and said if you don't want to die, don't move.
Speaker 1:And there were so many guns, oh my gosh, I couldn't imagine they didn't have a warrant.
Speaker 3:It would have been thrown out.
Speaker 3:But I was tired of sitting in jail for seven months, so I just signed a plea deal saying I would complete my probation and they would wipe it off my record so that's what happened so now you're out, yeah, you're, you're on the streets now yep, I'm on the streets and you know, when you're in that environment you just make friends with a bunch of other drug people and that's um how I met this guy. This guy's like I need help with computers and I was really good with it and I helped him with his computers and, uh, he let me stay with him. But that went south too. He lost his housing. And next thing I know I'm living in Gainesville in an old mattress warehouse with no running water, no electricity and rats. Wow, these rats are the size of cats.
Speaker 3:Wait a minute. I've never seen rats this big.
Speaker 1:Okay, hold up, hold up, Wait, wait. Okay, hold up, hold up. Is this so, ernesto? Is this where that I need to care for? Ernesto kind of come from? No, I just love animals. I know this is an inside, total inside thing, but no, okay, all right, I'm going to stop interrupting you, keep going.
Speaker 3:No, those rats stole my food. I watched them steal dog bones and those rats could stand up on their back legs and run like a human being on their back legs yes, I have a video of it too.
Speaker 3:Yes, I had to delete my google drive because it has all of these pictures and videos from my crazy life off of my phone. But randomly for school they'll send something and with like google docs, and I'm forced to see my google drive and I saw a video and it's like hey, do you remember this day three years ago? I mean my crappy life google yeah, there's a rat with a dog bone running across the warehouse.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, yes yes wow but so I'm living in this warehouse with this man. I'm watching him um part a part a truck. Do you know what I mean when I say he's parting out a truck? Um, I don't know, um, maybe there's some A truck was acquired by not myself, and I don't think he paid for the truck.
Speaker 1:Oh, and he was selling parts for, oh God it was, it was a chop shop. No, we're running a chop shop.
Speaker 2:Yeah, got you.
Speaker 1:Okay, got it, got it Okay.
Speaker 3:Not my business.
Speaker 1:I was just present, got you I was ready to be done.
Speaker 3:Yeah, entrepreneur, I guess, yeah, um, but at that point you know I was, I was ready to be done anytime. I would you know, like get high, I wouldn't get high anymore. I would you know, like get high, I wouldn't get high anymore. I would be sad and I would log onto social media and I would see some people that had gotten their life together and they were they had food and money and showers and I didn't have food and I didn't have money and I didn't have showers and I couldn't wash my clothes.
Speaker 3:We would catch rainwater and then use a propane tank to heat the rainwater up and siphon the water out of the gallon.
Speaker 3:It was like a 350-gallon fertilizer tank that would hold the rainwater and then we would heat it up and siphon the water out of that, and that's how we take a shower wow but just simple basic life necessities that I didn't have, that I just I wanted, I wanted it back, and but I didn't have a way out until one day I realized I hadn't started my period and I was like I think I'm pregnant, so went to Dollar Tree. I had enough money, I guess, for a dollar pregnancy test and that thing lit up so fast I was pregnant and enter Scarlett into the picture. How old is she?
Speaker 1:She's six now Six that girl fits fast.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she is the reason for everything. But all I had to do was make a phone call to my mother and everything you know got better from there. Her dad did not get better, I will say I was fully prepared and I knew deep down inside that I would be raising this child by myself, because not many people can do what I did. Again, people view addiction as a disease, not a choice. Dependency, like your body being dependent on a substance, is not a choice that you make. It becomes something like, you know, an alcoholic. They have to detox because their body depends on it. But I woke up and I made the choice to be where I was and to be in the hell that I was in, and then I just decided I didn't want to do that anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I called my mom.
Speaker 1:My stepmom. She smoked most of her life. She's gone now. She passed away, but I remember I was around 10 and we're driving down the road and you may have grew up with smokers in the car, where they just smoke and you're in the car and it doesn't matter yeah it's, and she.
Speaker 1:She looked back and she said you know what? She used to call me Jolie, because my middle name is Lee, but they call me Jolie. A lot, of, a lot of the old school people that know me call me Jolie. She said I'm going to quit smoking. She rolls down the window and she throws out two packs of cigarettes and she never bought another one or never smoked again, ever. See Good on her. I still remember that to this day. I was like wow.
Speaker 3:That's crazy. It's amazing to just be like you know, this isn't what I want anymore and then to just stick with it, where 99% of the population is like, oh, I need help, oh I need a program, oh, I need another drug to get me off of this drug. It's truly just an iron will.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think I will say see, I've never had to deal with addiction in the form of substance abuse or something like that. There was a part in my life where I did drink more than I should have, but I mean coming off alcohol, you can. That's a little different than drinking on the weekends to. You know, somebody drinks 24-7, all day, every day, but I've never had to kind of do or go through what you're talking about. But I do see two profiles of people there the ones like yourself. They're like you know what I'm. Just this is rock bottom. This is crazy. I don't even have water for a shower. I mean, what am I doing? You know I'm the change.
Speaker 1:And then I see the other profile, right and of the person that does get wrapped up in the mentality of you know, this thing has me. And then I've met people with substance abuse issues who just say you know what I'd do it because I love it, it's awesome. They're usually the ones that are still being kind of enabled and have everything. They're not living in a warehouse. They're usually the ones that are still being kind of enabled and have everything. They're not living in a warehouse, but, um, there's just so much complexity to it. So to have that, to have that iron wheel, like you said, that's you know that I could see where, in situations like this, that would, that would be a plus yeah, no, you're.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, you're right and I there. There are people from my past who will like find me on social media, for example. I actually I got a message yesterday from somebody and I don't speak to any of these people anymore because when you decide that you don't want something for yourself, you can't dwell like one foot in and then one foot out you have to be completely out, but I still get messages from people from the past. I'm like oh, I just did 14 months. I'm out and I'm like welcome home.
Speaker 1:You know, it's like the 10th time emoji got it, buddy yeah, yeah, thanks for letting me know, yeah, I, I also it's so good that you're sharing this, because I think for any listeners that may have or have family members going through this to hear this kind of perspective of hey, if you're serious about this, or if your family member is serious about this, you've got to change your environment, not just your mindset, but your physical environment, the people you're around.
Speaker 3:The times and days you go places. Yeah, yeah, right, it's not like I just decided I'm not going to do this anymore and life was good. No, I suffered, I cried, I was alone, I had no friends. I was pregnant. I lived in an extended state by myself. I didn't have anyone check on me, I didn't have the maternity photo shoot. I didn't have the glamorous, amazing pregnancy that all women wish they had. Attend any of the doctor's visits. My mother did.
Speaker 3:My mother held my hand when we found out that it was a girl. My mother has always been there for me, but yeah, no, deciding to change my life was very, very hard emotionally, and you know that's how I found jujitsu. I I decided to join a gym called Lifetime Fitness in Woodstock and I got involved in a boxing class and I met some old man with no hair and a long beard and he was covered in tattoos and he had the strongest country accent I've ever met.
Speaker 1:Yes, he does.
Speaker 3:I'm Chuck Mason. Did he just walk up to you Did?
Speaker 1:he just walk up to you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he was my boxing partner.
Speaker 1:Oh, got it, got it, got it Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we would, you know, box. He would hold mitts and I would hit and he'd be like you strong, I'm like okay.
Speaker 1:I can hear him now.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, what did? They call him uncle chuck, right, that's what that's, uncle chuck. Yeah, yeah, but I I call him my dad yeah, I can't wait to hear this. Yeah, uh and he would always. You know, I bring scarlet and I like batman and robin. Anybody who knows me knows that Scarlett's attached to my hip and she comes along everywhere. She was always with me at boxing and Chuck would always be like where's that beautiful baby? And I'm like she's right here. He's like you need to do jujitsu, like Theo Vaughn, I'm like Brazilian.
Speaker 2:Brazilian jujitsu. I thought that was a dog.
Speaker 3:I thought it was a dog, yeah.
Speaker 1:Every time it comes up on my feed. I watch that because it's just so funny, Because it's true. I never thought about it.
Speaker 3:I don't even know what that was. I don't know what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was.
Speaker 1:I actually have Chuck. I got to reach out to him because I'm going to have him on. I can't wait.
Speaker 3:You need to.
Speaker 1:It's happening.
Speaker 3:So many amazing stories.
Speaker 1:I cannot wait. Everybody's been telling me deep in his blood. Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Brother, his, his children, his nieces, I believe his family member. His brother might have been buried in his gi, but I don't.
Speaker 1:No, I think he was talking to me about that one day at roswell and, yeah, there's so many ideas that I want to talk to him about, so, anyway, continue, sorry, the alliance symbol is on his tombstone really that is so cool, unless I'm making it up in my head, I don't know, sometimes my brain does that I would totally do that that that's cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he was like come try this jujitsu. And so I went jujitsu-ing and I was like, oh my God, this looks terrifying Because people are grunting and sweating and throwing themselves at other people all over the night and I was like I have suffered so much abuse in my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do I really want some guy like straddled my chest right now?
Speaker 3:yeah, well that, but I mean I was, I was afraid for them. So I think that's everybody knows why now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think everybody knows why now. Yeah, I think everybody knows why now yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, it's like Chuck brought in this innocent looking woman with a baby and now you're about to teach her how to kill people. And I mean, I was intimidated, but when I decide I want to do something, I'm going to do it, and I learned and I fell in love. I couldn't stop.
Speaker 1:When I think I asked you this last time. When did you realize? Holy crap, I'm actually pretty good at this. This kind of fits me. When did you start realizing that?
Speaker 3:fits me. When did you start realizing that? Um, when I was in the beginners class it wasn't even intermediate, it was beginners class and yusef and um, oh my gosh, my mind is austin. Austin was a teacher back then. I don't believe you know Austin.
Speaker 1:No, I don't know.
Speaker 3:He's an amazing instructor, yeah, and they were teaching and they would just teach a technique, and then they're like monkey, see, monkey do, and so I would do. And they were like amazing, you did that, amazing. And I'm like what really? And I would notice that the people that I was you know, whoever I was partnered with the technique I'm not trying to be insulting, but wasn't necessarily on point or I would catch on to things faster and then when I would roll, I would do really well. And I remember a really defining moment for me is when Jacare came in and I was either a blue belt or a white belt, I'm not sure, but he came in and he taught a class and he divided the room up between men and women and he does that. I guess, from what I am told, he has women wrong with women and the men with men.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I heard that too.
Speaker 3:Victoria and I, we were just dominating all the women and Jacare stopped the class and said something to Leo and just came up and grabbed me and Victoria and he walked us over to the men's side and I was like, okay, all right, I understand, all right, I understand, and I um, yeah, I I begged, leo, you know, please, can I compete, can I compete, can I compete? And he's like, oh, let's just wait a little bit. And then finally comes the day that I can compete and I lost why so frustrating?
Speaker 3:it was. It's such a build-up right same way. Yeah, yeah, I think I lost my yeah I thought I was such a badass. I walked in there like, yeah, I'm gonna win all this, I'm gonna crush these women. And I walked in there and I got fucking triangled and you did, so you got submitted yeah, yes, wow, okay, don't make me a loser. Yeah, I'm supposed to lose it.
Speaker 1:I let everyone in the world down, yeah all of humanity is gonna die that's it you suck.
Speaker 3:Turn in your stripes and belt I quit yeah, is it, you're fired yeah, yeah, but no, I just, I was like that will never fucking happen again and it hasn't that's the birth right there.
Speaker 1:That's the explosion of bad jackie right right there, like, okay, I'm taking no prisoners, right I well, the girl that triangled me was a prisoner in my brain.
Speaker 3:She lived rent-free in my head until the very next time. But I was like I am gonna get that girl, and I did. I armbarred her and, uh, leo told me he was hog hunting at this, this tournament, this atlanta open. He wasn't there, but he, he called me on. Um, I think it was wait a minute. Did you say hawk hunting?
Speaker 1:he was hunting hogs. Where was he doing this? At?
Speaker 3:what with chuck chuck chuck, mason and leo went hog hunting on that oh my god.
Speaker 1:Yeah, somebody had to get him into that. There's nothing.
Speaker 3:He didn't wake up and say I'm going to hunt pigs no, it like hey, if you win this, I'll give you your blue belt. I was like say game on so I was like, hey, you remember me, I'm coming for you. And I did, I got her, and then I got the next one and I got my blue belt that's cool how long were you a white belt? So I started technically in 2020 at the beginning, and then the gym shut down because of COVID.
Speaker 1:Uh-oh, so Alliance is the only place you've trained right, yeah, and I, yes, and I will not train anywhere else ever. I don't want to, ever either, you don't.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, you don't want to ever either. You don't? Yeah, no, you don't.
Speaker 1:Once you're there, you're just like yeah, where else can you go?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, there's other gyms that do have good instructors or whatever, but as a female, I have different experiences. I have different experiences and a lot of other places have creeps that run their academies and I really love my academy because it's not full of creeps and also I have the best instructor professor that somebody could ever want.
Speaker 3:He doesn't just teach me how to do jujitsu, leo teaches me how to be a champion and leo knows I'm crazy, so he helps feed into that and teaches me how to be a ruthless competitor. He's, he explains the rules and then he's like and this is how you can sort of bend the rules. For example, a choke isn't necessarily around the throat, it can be right under the nose who taught you the arm bar where you trap.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you're even going to remember, but there's somehow. You trap their arm with their sleeve behind their arm and it locks like one side of their body so they can't like throw your legs out. You know I'll have to send it to you. You. You posted it, but I was like holy crap, I never thought about trapping that arm oh when do you know what I'm talking?
Speaker 3:about and I grabbed the arm and I scooped their leg and then hold on to their arm.
Speaker 1:I think so, I think so leo taught me that yeah, yeah, it had to be, because I was watching and I was like, oh my God, every time they grab my leg and hold it off, but if I just trap it I don't have to worry about that. So, like, armbar is your thing.
Speaker 3:That's private lessons with Leo.
Speaker 1:That's your specialty is armbar.
Speaker 3:Armbars. Yeah, I mean I do love a good arm bar and I love a good choke, but really I'm a submission fighter.
Speaker 1:I don't enjoy doing math. It's whatever comes up, man.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, and I know what I'm good at and I'm really good at ripping people's arms off, so it's just what you see. But I mean, at this last World Master Championship, my submissions were bow and arrow, choke arm bar and an arm triangle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you had a wrist lock too right, or something like that right, I had it.
Speaker 3:And Leo always tells me he he's like, okay, I think he tries to like, make me have a heart when I'm competing, because I can be really heartless. And he tries to tell me like, jacqueline, I promise you will feel bad if you seriously injure somebody, and I'm like, no, I won't. I won't feel bad if you seriously injure somebody and I'm like, no, I won't, I won't feel bad at all, like we're all here to hurt each other, especially in a competition. I'm out here to get submissions and so is everybody else. I know no one would have mercy on me. So for that girl, yes, I wrist locked her and I made her wrist touch the back of her arm. And everybody in the background is going, oh, my god, no, she didn't tap. Oh, she was one of those flexible people well or was she just like I'm?
Speaker 1:I'm in worlds. I notice, in worlds, people hold on a lot longer yeah, like they'll pass out they'll, they'll let you pop something.
Speaker 1:I mean I'm not going to let anybody do any of that. Worlds are not, but I think it's because, like you, spend so much time prepping, and I mean none of your matches in Worlds this last time went over a minute right so they get in these situations in a matter of seconds and they're like what All of that? Like they know, know, like you know you're not getting out of a deep bow and arrow choke. You know you're not getting out of a inverted deep arm bar. Like you just know it's coming like it you can't do anything about it.
Speaker 1:What I mean, that's what our instructors teach us that once it's locked, it's just locked, there's no escape. Because, yeah, our rodrigo he'll tell us, you know, somebody will ask well, there's no escape, because our Rodrigo, he'll tell us, you know somebody will ask well, what's the escape for that submission? You know, it's that you tap.
Speaker 3:Don't get in it.
Speaker 1:Well, he says you tap. That's how you get out of it. You tap. Once it's locked in, you tap.
Speaker 3:Well, she didn't tap and I could hear Leo's voice in my head saying Jacqueline, have mercy for these people who have jobs and children. So I decided to quit ripping her appendages off and she wasn't going to get out from under my mount anyways. There were no points on me. I was safe. I could just ride her like a pony the rest of the match, and I did so. That was me giving mercy and compassion.
Speaker 1:So yeah, well. So no one can say Bad Jackie's not compassionate. So before we talk a little bit more about your Double Worlds title, what would you say is the biggest change you've seen in yourself since starting jujitsu, both mentally and physically?
Speaker 3:That's really easy to answer. Um, I love jujitsu so much and I give most of the credit to jujitsu for keeping me sane and happy that it's so important to me that I live my life by asking myself you know those, what would you just do? Bracelets.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Mine is like how will this help my jujitsu?
Speaker 1:Oh God, we got to get those made. We're getting those made, yeah.
Speaker 3:If I go eat this Burger King, how is this going to help or hurt my jujitsu? Okay, I will allow myself to, you know, share two bottles of champagne once a week with my neighbor, but that's it, because it will hurt my jujitsu. If I'm out here, you know drinking all the time, so I don't do that. People that I hang out with, oh, how are they going to hurt or help my jiu-jitsu? Okay, I need to go to the gym because it's going to help my jiu-jitsu, and that's really how I live a lot of my life.
Speaker 1:So like the BJJ lifestyle, right, that's a real thing for you.
Speaker 3:Yes, it is Absolutely it is.
Speaker 1:It's not just a hashtag, right? No, it's not just a hashtag, right no, it's not.
Speaker 3:it really is a way of life, and I wish that I had found jujitsu when I was younger, because I mean, it might have prevented a lot of craziness. But at the same time I wouldn't be who I am today with without it, and I wouldn't have who's to say, I wouldn't have the people that I have in my life today. You know, I don't know, but I'm thankful that I have it because it is a lifestyle and it keeps me in line. And then the physical changes that I've seen in my body, like I'm ripped and I was always really strong, but this is different.
Speaker 1:It's a different mood, right? Yeah, and that's what I tell people 225 pounds.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice. You know what the thing is. People don't understand this thing called jujitsu abs, but they're real Like, listen, I have never had abs my end well, maybe that's not true, but I think in my early military career. But man, when I started doing jujitsu, like the muscle tone came that I never had. Uh, but, but this was back when I was training like eight, nine hours a week too. Um, I mean, it does. It gives you a different, like just body style and your neck gets thicker.
Speaker 3:I feel like I look like one of those pit bulls that they train with those chains like a pity. Yeah, my neck has gotten thicker because people try to choke you all the time, all the time no, yeah, you're not choking my neck, yeah it's like my grip Gosh.
Speaker 1:It reminds me the other day what's wrong with Rodrigo Dude. Lets me put him in a cross-collar choke deep as possible, and literally just sits there. I'm like full on curving the wrist and he's just sitting there looking at me. I'm like God, it's because of his neck, his neck strain, and he was only blocking it with the muscles in his neck. It was insane, Whatever.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean Rodrigo won the grip strength contest at World. Master, yeah, 188 pounds with a squeezing, I believe you.
Speaker 1:Have you ever trained with him, rodrigo?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, he used to be an instructor at headquarters before he started his school at Roswell. I mean, yeah, he's, Rodrigo's like a pit bull.
Speaker 1:He is. I mean, he is just the master of pain if he wants to be right.
Speaker 3:Pain master, he's the pain master. But he laughs when he does it oh, oh.
Speaker 1:So he does that. Yeah, he. He's laughing and smiling the whole time, the whole time. But you know what I do? I talk trash to him the whole time, the whole time he's. He's like choking me halfway out, unconscious and then I'm out and it's the way I feel, like I've won a little bit of it, not really. If you're going to take it, check me out, go out with a bang buddy, taking a few with me.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:So let's talk a little bit about, specifically, the IBJJF Master World Championship titles. Okay, what I don't want, you know what I'm just going to keep. I'm going to keep this question real simple how does it feel to win Master Worlds not once, but twice and back to back? Right? Are these back to back, or was there a year between?
Speaker 3:No, they're back to back.
Speaker 1:Back to back. Okay, go. How does it feel?
Speaker 3:so it feels amazing and but more than anything, I'm humble and I'm grateful. So the first one, when I won as a blue belt, I I knew I was gonna. I mean, I don't know, I just knew I was submitting everybody. When I was competing at Blue Belt I was always getting double gold and my matches were all really quick. So I fully was prepared to win and I don't care if that sounds cocky, because that's the kind of attitude you have to have when you compete your mindset is the most important thing?
Speaker 1:Not at all 100%.
Speaker 3:Leo teaches that.
Speaker 1:I know Leo teaches that and preaches that, so it makes sense yeah he does.
Speaker 3:And I remember he told me he's like if you want to be a winner, jacqueline, you have to go out there knowing that you deserve to win more than anybody else out there, and with my story and all the things you know, just like Daenerys Targaryen, that I have had to overcome, I mean given, yes, I put myself in that position, but I overcame all of those things, those obstacles, and by myself I'm I've already done more than these people.
Speaker 3:And then I train and I go to school, school, and I raise a child by myself. There's no reason why I am not gonna win, and that's what I tell myself. So at blue belt I was like I'm gonna win this, and I did. And they always say slow down, I I have to have some time so I can come sit and watch your match. Quit, quit winning so fast. And I cried when he gave me my purple belt on the podium because my dream, my, my first goal when I started jiu-jitsu was to be a world champion. And then I accomplished it. And then all the flooding of emotions, of everything that I had been through, came back right there on the podium.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I saw that. I saw the post that you did on that. You girl, you, you ugly cried, you straight, broke down.
Speaker 3:I could imagine it was the first really big thing that I had done for myself, besides getting accepted into nursing school and besides getting my criminal record wiped clean. That was the first.
Speaker 1:And quitting drugs and overcoming homelessness and getting out of jail.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, ten times yeah. So it was. It meant a lot to me. That blue belt title meant a lot to me. And then when I got my purple belt IDJJF wouldn't let me compete. They're like, no, you got your purple belt. Ibjjf wouldn't let me compete. They're like, no, you got your purple belt too fast, you can't compete.
Speaker 3:Uh, fuck you really so yeah, but if you're an adult and you win a world championship, you're allowed to level up, but that doesn't apply to masters competitors. I don't know why ibjjf is so oh, that's weird.
Speaker 1:I did not know that so. So how did you compete the next year?
Speaker 3:well, I wasn't a blue belt for two years and there's a two-year mandatory sentence waiting period for blue belts and, um, I had gotten it four or five months, just shy of two years. So I was allowed to compete as a purple belt this year got it okay I was only able to compete once before this world championship because of nursing school and my clinicals, um I I had clinicals on saturdays and stuff, so I was always really super busy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and all the opens are on Saturdays and Sundays. Yeah, yes, yeah.
Speaker 3:So this year, when I went to compete for my world title, I didn't have any expectations of myself. You know, I I I set realistic goals for myself and I wouldn't say it's unrealistic to be like I'm going to go in here and win, only being a purple belt for 11 months. But I did, but that wasn't. You know, that wasn't my goal and I didn't expect it. So when it happened, I was just, I prayed on the mat. You can see it if you look at my Instagram how happy I was.
Speaker 3:And then I put my head on the mat and I was praying to God and Victoria and I were like Jacqueline, jacqueline, jacqueline. But I was so deep in prayer that I didn't hear anything and I was just thanking God for all the blessings that he's given me and rewarding me, because anytime something really good happens to me, I feel like God is rewarding me. Because anytime something really good happens to me, I feel like God is rewarding me for all the things that I have done to be what he wants me to be. And so that's how it felt for me to become a brown belt.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm glad God wants you doing jiu-jitsu, because your matches are phenomenal to watch, Thank you. So you know, not sure I'll make the pearly gates, but if I do I'm going to high-five him for that for sure. Hey, you got it right there, god, good career move. Good career move. You got it right with bad Jackie.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think I would be disappointed if I got to heaven and there were no Jiu-Jitsu academies. I think they're going to be, I think there should be. I mean, he's got to have thought about that, right.
Speaker 3:Well, I think he says that we're all going to be, you know, praising him. So if Jiu-Jitsu academies bring glory, to God.
Speaker 1:I'm sure they'll be there. He's got to toriandas are brutal.
Speaker 3:They are I drive my shoulder right into the diaphragm I know, I know, I um I.
Speaker 1:It took me forever. I was. I was first learning toriando pass as a white belt. I kept driving my shoulder into the ground. It was killing me. I was like I think I just broke my shoulder.
Speaker 3:Yeah, dislocate it for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they would just roll up and take my back. It was embarrassing.
Speaker 3:Oh, no, no, you have to hit them right in the diaphragm, so that they lose all their breath.
Speaker 1:I'm not a heavy guy, but I guess you could just kind of missile in there, right, just missile in there right, this is a combat sport. No, no, no, no. I mean, I'm just like literally light. I only weigh 188. And then, like most of the guys at Roswell location are giants, so I could like jump up and down on Rodrigo and it wouldn't matter, right? So my little shoulder tap, my little shoulder bump on his chest is what it is.
Speaker 3:That's why you have to just like fall down when you do it. Yeah, just dead weight yeah, that's what it's supposed to be. You're not supposed to do it gently, you're supposed to like but you know, be good to your training partners because they're the ones that show up, and that's right. Let you beat them up, because without my training partners, you know be good to your training partners, because they're the ones that show up and let you beat them up, because without my training partners, you know.
Speaker 1:Are you good, are you kind to your training partners? I think there's some days you're probably not.
Speaker 3:I am kind. 90% of the time I have accidentally hurt a training partner.
Speaker 1:Oh, without a doubt I could have told you that, but it wasn't intentional. I was rolling with Laura. Sorry, laura accidentally hurt a training partner. Oh, without a doubt I could have told you that, like, but it wasn't intentional.
Speaker 3:I was rolling with laura she's sorry, laura, she's one of our blue belts and I had her in my clothes guard and I trapped her arm. I didn't crank it, but maybe I did towards the end.
Speaker 1:I don't know, but I hurt her arm and it wasn't intentional well, sometimes you just get caught in the momentum too, especially with camorras, right I mean, sometimes like you. Just I mean you're moving, you're moving fast, you know.
Speaker 3:So I mean yeah accidents happen yeah yeah, I can remember the times that I've hurt people and I don't ever want to intentionally hurt my training partners and I can't be as fast and a lot of people are afraid to roll with me. A lot of the women will be like, okay, please don't hurt me, and I'm like what, I'm not gonna hurt you are you the mat enforcer for no, for the, for alliance uh headquarters.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, I'm not you're not the man enforcer okay no, and I don't want to be yeah no, but I will say that if leo ever looks at you and then points to someone else and makes the cutthroat sign, that usually is a good indicator. He wants you to roll with that person and humble them.
Speaker 1:Ah, I could see that. I heard stories about him when he first got to Alliance, like from Brazil, like he was just tearing people up. Like he was just tearing people up, like he was hurting people. Rodrigo was telling me like, yeah, if you roll with Leo and you act stupid, he will hurt you. He will. He will hurt you, like if you're spazzing out on him or trying to go super, super hard and well, not just on him, on anybody else.
Speaker 3:I look at our academy. It's like I know this sounds really probably kind of stupid, but we're like a den of I don't know wolves lions eagles I don't know if eagles like rip each other's throat out oh, eagles are vicious girl.
Speaker 1:You just don't know they'd be tearing each other up and other animals. They're pretty vicious.
Speaker 3:But I'm just like Leo is the head wolf or lion or whatever. Yeah, and we're all his little like wolf cubs or whatever, and he's teaching us how to, you know, kill, and if he sees anyone hurt any of his other wolves, he'll go out there and fuck them up. Oh, yeah, yeah, Without a doubt, and that includes the siblings, like if you have a bad training partner and they're being rough on you on purpose.
Speaker 1:Leo's gonna call you out and be like, come roll with me yeah and he'll humble you fast I was I don't ever want to roll with him, not even for fun yeah, I've rolled with him three times at his seminars and I he's so nice about it and I tried this. I tried the sao paulo pass on him. Like me, do it on him during a role.
Speaker 3:Yeah he choked me. I tried to do his move on him and he started.
Speaker 1:He started laughing and choked me cross collar choked me, um but I, like you know, he came on the show and I was super grateful. I, I mean leo uh nogara. For the listeners, that's who we're talking about. Multi-time world champion, bjj, legend icon. I wouldn't doubt if he doesn't end up in the hall of fame. I mean, in my mind he is.
Speaker 1:He was one of the first people that I started watching when I was at Iron Wolf, like when I would find videos and stuff like that. I had no clue who he was. And then I started training at Alliance and I started the same thing. I started rolling with Rodrigo and I tried the Sao Paulo Pass on Rodrigo and he recognized what it was and you know, he's been training with Leo forever. And he starts laughing and I told him yeah, I learned this from this guy named Leo Nugira, nugira, nugira. And he starts laughing. He's like I know him, he's my friend. I was like what do you mean? He's your friend. He's like, yeah, down the road. I you mean he's your friend. He's like, yeah, he down the road. I was like what?
Speaker 1:and that's when I started learning about, you know, leo shakare uh fabio and um oh like marcus tanoko and bernardo faera and like really understanding what alliance was from a you know, uh, somebody's a lower belt, still kind of a lower belt I mean I guess blue belt's still a lower belt but uh, to have access to champions and multi-time champions and these amazing black belts and everybody, as you say, in the den or the pack is always willing to share their knowledge and it's, I think, that's what makes us such a good academy and good school and jujitsu team across the globe. Is that mentality of the professors passed down. I hope all alliances, everyone that goes to an alliance academy, has some of our same experiences and positive things to say that somebody lets us know if there's not, but I'll tell you it's. Uh, that's actually. I don't have a point other than just saying I love our den, our pack they're like a, they're like my family and scarletlett.
Speaker 3:she's been going there with me since she was one or two and she went there in diapers during her potty training stage, when she couldn't talk, when she was still learning how to walk, when she lost her first tooth.
Speaker 1:She's so going to train jiu-jitsu.
Speaker 3:Well, I had to make her toughen up a little bit. She's a crybaby, she's really sensitive. She's a sensitive girl. She's six, right yeah. But I'm telling you there are other six-year-old little girls out there that are like Ooh, some, I've seen some bad ones like nail polish lipstick, cartwheels do you know matt's uh daughter?
Speaker 1:I think her name is aria, do you? Victoria comes down and trains her. Have you ever seen her? Do you, do you?
Speaker 3:know who she.
Speaker 1:I've seen the videos that girl is crazy good, like Like oh, my God, All right, so we are over an hour here, so we're going to get to a couple more questions and we're going to wrap this thing up because I've got two and a half more hours of training and I told Rodrigo I'd help him with kids class. So for people who are listening to this and are going through tough times and I know a lot of times we look at our personal lives and we measure tough times on a barometer of how bad somebody else went through something, but just anything that they deem as a tough time what advice would you give them to help them find their way out, whether it be drug addiction, abuse, anything like that kind of like you did? What would you say to them?
Speaker 3:I would tell that person to have faith in yourself. Yes, to have faith in God. Of course that's always a given. But a lot of people who are going through a hard time lose faith in themselves and they're like like, oh, I can't do this, this, I'm not good enough for this. No, you are. Have faith in yourself, love yourself, be good to yourself. Don't just get in the bed and, you know, say, oh, I just don't have the energy. Go to jujitsu happy. Go to jujitsu sad. Go to jujitsu tired. Go to jujitsu mad. Oh my god, I sound like a. What's that guy? Red foot, right foot, green foot, dr seuss oh, I love this.
Speaker 1:Go to jujitsu.
Speaker 3:Yes, there should be a face in yourselfpe yourself up off the floor, use whatever energy that you have left and know that you're worth it, and don't ever stop believing in yourself.
Speaker 1:Man, I almost wish we could end on that, but that's amazing. I, you know, I think that for those listeners caffeinated jujitsu. You know I started the podcast to focus on those who had, you know, new interest in jujitsu. A lot of the emails I get are from people who have been practicing, you know, a year, two years, and then I get some 10, 15, 20, all their life and, um, what I love is that, the listenership.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that's a word, but the listeners of the podcast. They're just like the jujitsu communities in our gym and they're made up of everybody, all walks of life, all levels of experience, and in the end we're all going through a lot of the same things, right? No, we may not be going through drug addictions and things like that, but I'm sitting here before we got on the phone, thinking about the exhausting rest of the day that I have here at work and then life and just all these different types of troubles and stresses, and to hear how jujitsu has really at least in my mind or my interpretation has been a therapeutic tool for you. You got out of addiction because you had the will. You picked yourself up by your bootstrap, so to speak. You got out of it, but to me, sitting on this side of the mic, it sounds like jiu-jitsu has at least played a small part, if not a big part, in you maintaining your success and your sobriety and moving forward and your positivity and just having a good life oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:But you know I have absolutely no desire to. When I think about my past I actually get anxiety. In a sense I'm ashamed that I ever did that to myself, because it's not self-love at all.
Speaker 3:And I have no desire to ever return to any thing that resembles the old me. It's a very scary thought. I'm not at risk forever going in that direction again. I have too much to lose now, whereas when I lived like that I had nothing to lose, I didn't care. But now I have a reason to care. But yeah, you're right, jiu-jitsu has done a lot for me in more aspects than I probably even realize.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's amazing. I love hearing people say that you know how, just jiu-jitsu. I've never heard someone say you're you know how just jujitsu. I've never heard someone say you know what I like jujitsu, but hasn't really done anything for my life outside of make me sweat and get me in shape. I mean it does that, but there's so much deeper streams of benefits that jujitsu brings or kind of flows through us. It's amazing, right right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is amazing.
Speaker 1:So let's the last thing I want us to talk about, and then we'll get on our way. Thank you again. This has been awesome, and I'm so glad we got to do this twice.
Speaker 3:It's been awesome for me to share it. Yeah, I think this is better.
Speaker 1:But I think this was a better one, like I think it was. I mean it feels like even like more in depth. I'm kind of glad we had to redo it yeah, me too you just got your brown belt and, oh my god, we're about to blow some minds right now with this question. You're a brown belt. How long has it taken you to get your brown belt?
Speaker 3:Four years.
Speaker 1:Boom, you said four, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Four, Holy crap. I'm telling you. That has to be your record. I've never heard of a four-year brown belt.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, I don't know, am I wrong?
Speaker 1:I don't know the record, I don't know.
Speaker 3:But I know that there's a man named we call him Doc Chris. He's an orthopedic surgeon. His name is Chris Hasarofsky. I don't think I said that right, but his grandparents were my grandparents' general practitioners and when he was doing his clinicals and rotations and stuff at Grady, mom helped counsel him to. You know, stay, stick with it. Because I know that he hit a bout of like. I don't know if this is for me, but, um, he got his black belt in five or six years because he just said black belt yes, nice and the guy is a murder machine.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's the only person that I can think of. That got you know through it fast.
Speaker 1:I'm glad Jiu Jitsu set up the way it is. When it comes to progression through the belts, you're rewarded on consistency, skill and passion. I think that's what I see. Um, you don't have to be a double master, world's champion, to be a brown belt, blue belt, purple belt, black belt, whatever you're going to get there, um, but you, you do have to be consistent in your training. You do have to know your techniques and be able to repeat. You're not going to not know how to escape, mount and make it to black belt. You have to demonstrate that, and that's also why I am in favor of academies testing. I'm huge on that, I'm big on that. That's just me. And then, when it comes down to, I love the way Alliance does competing and podium promotions. Look if you've just beat, in a world stage type event, everybody in your bracket that's it there.
Speaker 1:Who else is there, right? I mean, yeah, yes, sure there's somebody out there in some gym somewhere in the united states or country or globe that can, that can beat you and him, you up right there in there yeah but you know what they? They didn't sign up for Master Worlds. They didn't go out there and put it all out on the world stage, right, right.
Speaker 3:And let me confess something real fast I am still in awe that I'm a brown belt and I think a lot of people will own up to this if you ask them about having imposter syndrome. Yes, I did deserve and I did earn my brown belt. But I want to stay here because jujitsu is, it's not like school. You know, okay, in four years you you've learned everything, you took all the classes, you passed, you're good to go. It's not like that, jujitsu. You never stop learning and you never stop mastering a technique. It's like you could. I can watch someone do an arm bar 10 times and each time I'll be like oh, oh, oh, oh, okay, okay, more pressure here. Oh, it could be tighter here. You know it. Just, it's a never ending learning experience with ju.
Speaker 3:So you know, with my brown belt. I'm happy, I'd like to stay here for a while and I just I'm not in a rush to win anything I want to experience the brown belt ride for a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think I would probably. If I were in the exact situation you were in, I would probably feel the same way. I don't think it's going okay, so let's do this. What's next? Are you going to Masters next year?
Speaker 3:Oh, of course.
Speaker 1:If I get started to win. I might throw the competition and be like oh, I wonder what it's gonna be like, though I wonder if it's gonna. Did you feel a difference in the level of experience going against the purple belts than than the blue belts the year before? Or because it didn't look like it. I went back and watched your, your matches from 2023 and it was the same thing.
Speaker 3:It was the same exact time, yeah for them, because my game people ask me. I get a lot of messages. They're like what is going through your mind, what is your game plan? How do you prepare? I?
Speaker 3:purposely didn't ask that, if you notice, my mindset is kill or be killed, because this person is slapped and bumping my hand, acknowledging that you know they're trying to hurt me. Jiu-jitsu isn't ballet, you know. We're not seeing who dances better, we're seeing who can break someone apart the fastest. So I'm my and my game style is I'm acting first, I am going to impose my will on you, and you will not have the opportunity to do anything to me ever. No one will ever hurt me again, and that can be, you know, taken in a jujitsu sense or my past life sense, but no one on the mat is going to have the opportunity to get their game on me, and so that's why I don't feel a difference in the technique. It's because I don't give them the opportunity to let me feel it.
Speaker 3:But I'm sure that would change.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, miss Jacqueline Young, bad Jackie, thank you so so much. This has been amazing. You and I have gotten to know each other a little more over the past. What three weeks, two weeks, three weeks? This is a fast friendship man. This is like just bump on, we got it. Um, yeah, yeah, we got to get coffee again soon. I cannot. And next year, when you win your third world title, you're coming back on and talking about you know, and you're also. You still owe me some training. But now, see, now I've got to pay you for a private no you don't.
Speaker 1:Now I've got to pay you for a private.
Speaker 3:Unacceptable.
Speaker 1:Because I've got to get that flying arm bar down.
Speaker 3:You can come do it for free, please. No I will not accept money.
Speaker 1:Well, I've got to do something because because I got a tough bracket coming up and somebody in headquarters is in my bracket oh God, what is his name? He's a blue belt in Masters but he's competing, so I know there's a lot of blue belts up there.
Speaker 3:It's okay, I know you, I'll cheer for you, but it's my job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you may not because Leo may be right beside you, so I want you to cheer for her. That's okay. We're all family, that's right. That's right, all right. Well, thank you again for coming on. For those of you who want to get in touch with Jackie, you can reach her on Instagram at badjackio Right, correct. She's got a growing Instagram community. You can also be sure you follow the Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu Podcast, because she's going to be back on next year with a third world title. You can connect with her through our IG community as well. She's always open for conversation. Coffee and boiled eggs. You had deviled eggs, right, right, what'd you have? You had eggs with your coffee. That was so cool.
Speaker 3:I was like holy cow, it was a protein packet that's it.
Speaker 1:I was like cool coffee and eggs, awesome, yeah. Well, thank you and we'll thank you.
Speaker 2:See you next year sounds good, bye bye and that's the final tap on today's episode of caffeinated jujitsu. A big thanks to all of our listeners, especially today's insightful guest, for sharing their bjj knowledge and tales. If you felt that adrenaline rush and are hungry for more, hit, subscribe, drop a review and spread the jujitsu buzz. For show notes and to contact the host, reach out to the email provided in the podcast description and to join our grappling community, head over to Instagram. Get those geese. Crisp your coffee strong and always be prepared for the next roll Oss.
