Who Are You When You Can't Train Jiu Jitsu? Liana De La Cruz

What do you do when the one thing that keeps your head clear and your heart steady gets taken away overnight? Liana De La Cruz mom, former custody deputy, blue belt competitor, and ethical dog care owner opens up about tearing her meniscus, facing surgery, and refusing to drift from the mats that changed her life. 

We get practical about injury without platitudes. Liana shares how to keep your identity intact: show up to watch, drill within strict limits, swap in safe striking or strength work, and guard the wins you’ve earned so you don’t slide back into old habits. She’s honest about the depression that follows a sudden stop, and clear about how community and coaches help you hold the line until you can move freely again. If you’ve ever felt lost staring at the mats from a chair, this conversation gives you a plan.

We also zoom out to a bigger problem: the fitness crisis in first responders. Liana explains why one-and-done academy standards and poor wellness support leave officers unprepared for real violence. She makes the case for routine jiu-jitsu training to lower injuries, reduce use-of-force incidents, and build confidence under pressure. Funding and staffing are real barriers, but smart incentives and local academy partnerships could change outcomes for officers and the public. Along the way, we dig into the difference between MMA and BJJ gym cultures, competition highs and lows, and the surprising peace of building a fear-free dog lodge on a Tennessee homestead.

If you’re sidelined right now, consider this your blueprint back to center. Listen, take notes, and then text a teammate to meet you at the gym watching counts. 

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Transcript

Meet Liana: Mom, Cop, Grappler, Creator

SPEAKER_03 0:54

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu. I am super excited to be here with another amazing guest. 2026 continues to deliver when it comes to guests today. I have with me Liana. And Liana, is it Dela Cruz or is that how you say your last name?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yeah, so Dela Cruz, I'm if we're going formal, I've also have another last name of Magda. I know this is where it gets really confusing. Um, but Dela Cruz is my husband's last name, but I never legally changed it on paper. I'm a busy lady and I just we've been married for coming up on five years, and I just never had time. But Dela Cruz, yes, that is how it is pronounced. But if you're looking for like formal, is gonna be under Magda.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

But oh I died. Yeah, I always ask because uh so so my last name is Motes, and you would be surprised how hard some people make that. I get Motes, Motis, uh, and then some people just change it to notes without even paying attention to the M. But anyway, everyone, Liana is a mom, she is a business owner, she is a content creator, and even more cool, she is a combat sports hobbyist. She has a background in law enforcement that we're gonna talk about today, but left the profession a few years ago and went on to pursue a career in the animal care industry. And I am looking forward to learning more about that pivot, and uh, where she graduated the catch canine trainers academy and opened up her own dog boarding business. You are a busy, busy lady, Liana.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Yeah, oh yes, I am.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

And she also, of course, trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and we are going to talk about uh kind of a situation that she's going through and a topic that I know is important to everyone, and that is when we face um, when we face injury in jiu-jitsu. And uh, you know, Liana, I've I've been fortunate enough myself uh so far. I'm gonna knock on wood. At least I hope this desk is wood. You just never know uh what things are made of these days. Uh, but I've been fortunate enough not to uh have any uh injuries myself. Um but um yeah, just uh is there anything else you want to share uh uh about yourself before we kind of jump into things?

SPEAKER_01 3:39

Um, I mean, you covered the basics, the the the big parts of my life where yeah, I'm a mom, I have a 13-year-old boy, um, and then former law enforcement. I dabble in some content creation, which we can talk about too. And then, yeah, I mean, I I own a business now, which is very demanding, um, but I love what I do. And um some other fun facts. We live on a 22-acre property, which I was trying to turn into a homestead, but I've got way too many other obligations right now. But we do have some chickens. We've gotten into a little bit of that, you know, some of that self-sufficient type of living. Um, but yeah, I mean, I think you covered kind of the main points of, you know, the most important parts of my life so far.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

So let's talk about uh let's start with uh I call it the origin story, your journey into jujitsu, and then we'll get into kind of the law enforcement and the transition into animal care. But would love to kind of learn about your origin in jujitsu first. So yeah, talk us through that.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah, of course. So kind of how I got involved in it is where we want to start.

SPEAKER_03 4:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Yeah, of

Origin Story: From Jail Duty To Jiu-Jitsu

SPEAKER_01 4:48

course. So um the law enforcement was actually how I kind of funneled into jujitsu um because I got hired with um the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office back in 2016. I cannot believe it is 10 years ago now. Um and then I started training jujitsu in 2018. Um, so almost about two years into my law enforcement career, um, I started because of there was a couple of reasons. Um one was because we dealt with a lot of hands-on situations. I worked in the jail um for a majority of my career. I did four years in the jail and then I did it about just shy of a year uh in the transportation unit. So I was just transporting inmates to court, prison, all over the place. Um, but I got into it because we had to deal with a lot of hands-on situations in the jail. We were about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles, so we were a pretty busy facility.

SPEAKER_05 5:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Dealt with some higher-level offenders. Um and as a smaller female, obviously, um, it's it can be harder to control larger male subjects at times. Um, and I realized that I didn't have what I needed to be safe and successful in my job. Um, and on top of that, I was also dealing with the mental aspects of the job. It is a very high-stress job, um, a lot of depression, a lot of, you know, other mental health issues, PTSD that you're dealing with. Um also pretty toxic work environment, if I'm gonna be honest. Um, so there was a lot going on, and I realized like I need to do something, something as far as self-defense goes. Um, so I found jujitsu and I started doing that. Um I trained pretty consistently up until um the beginning of 2020. There was some some stuff going on in my life, and I um got kind of inconsistent with it then. Um, and then I ended up having to take a little bit of a break from it for a bit, and I got back into it in 2022 and have trained um consistently since 2022.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

Yeah, I you know, life happens. I uh so I'm one of those uh who who really got addicted to jujitsu, right? Like after my first my first class, and uh so when I was training at Alliance, I was training like twice a day sometimes, like just hours and hours on the mat. And then, you know, I work picked up, uh the boys uh started sports, and all of them do different sports. They do basketball, baseball, and uh soccer. So uh gosh, I th I I think it it it was a several months that I had to had to take off. I've I've been lucky, uh, like I said, about the injury and and not having to take you know any more than I I would say you know, four or five months off. But, you know, for us that that start you know jujitsu a little later in life, right? And uh life always happens. Always, always. And I was wondering, you know, if you had found jujitsu uh through law enforcement, because that's such a big martial art self-defense or whatever they're calling it, uh you know, for for uh the the police departments, but a lot of them are training in jujitsu now. A lot.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

I mean a lot of a lot of yeah, I oh I was gonna say I'm seeing I'm seeing a big emphasis being put on it too, um, which makes me happy because they need it.

SPEAKER_03 8:40

Yeah, yeah. And who do you train with now? So you started in in California.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Yes. So I've been kind of all over the place. So I started in California um at a gym called Santa Maria Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Um, and it was a wonderful place. Shout out to to Chris, the owner there. Um, he he doesn't realize sometimes how much of a big impact he had on my life, but he did. And I I didn't tell him enough, you know, I was a little bit of a dumbass back then. I was in my early 20s and, you know, typical, typical, not the best decisions at my time in my life, but um, I don't give him as much credit as I should for how much he really had an impact on my life. But um, yeah, Santa Maria Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is where I started. Then I moved to Arizona at the end of 2020, beginning of 2021. Um, and then when I trained in Arizona, I trained at a place called Solid Ground Jiu-Jitsu. It was a smaller gym. I'm near where I lived. And then um, since I've been here in Tennessee, which I came here two years ago, um I trained at Leviathan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for about a year. And then I switched to Militia MMA, which is where I am at now.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

So it's a full MMA gym, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Yes, that's correct.

SPEAKER_03 9:58

Yeah, yeah. You know, that's interesting. I know uh we had kind of looked over some topics to uh discuss during the inner or during the episode today, but one question I have uh that you kind of came to mind as you as you were you were talking about kind of where you trained is do you see a big difference in an MMA gym and a gym that solely focuses on jujitsu only? Like pros, cons. I mean it seems like it's probably a lot more aggressive, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Um, some in a sense, kind of. Um it's a good balance where I'm at. And that's why I really I will sing the praises for Militia MMA, um, because it is it is a very good balance. But to answer your question, and then I'll kind of circle back, but to answer your question, yes, there is a difference in the style of jujitsu for sure.

Moving States, Changing Gyms, Finding Fit

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Um, I actually like it better. I feel like I have learned the most in my year that I've been training at Militia MMA, just because the style that it is, it just clicks with my brain a little bit better and makes a little bit more sense to me. And I've been able to get better from it. Um, but I did notice a difference. And as far as like, you know, you said it's a little more aggressive, I it's a good balance at Militia. They do a great job where it is definitely, you know, a competitive fight gym because we do have some people that are pro training there. Um, and he does really encourage us to get into competitions, but they have it, you know, it's not it's not some out of control cobra kai type of mess, you know. So they do a good thing.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

Yeah, I think of that, right? Like everybody's like breaking wood with their face and like in all these pads and kicking heavy bags.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

It's like no, it's so no, it's not, it's not anything crazy like that. He does do um a really good job of keeping it where it's still uh calm enough for someone like me who's I do compete, but I'm definitely not on the level that a lot of you know, some of these other people that are training there are. But he does a good job of making it welcoming for people like me, but also still having that intensity level for those, you know, pro competition type of fighters as well.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

Yeah. Yeah. I um another another thing you brought up was was the impact of your professors and coaches over, you know, time, especially the first, you know, coach you had. And I I think that uh I don't think that professors and coaches and and and people in these positions realize the positive impacts they have and life-changing impacts they have. And then on the flip side, we're seeing all this stuff in social media, the negative impacts that can happen, right? Um, like it's a big responsibility for these practitioners. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Um yeah, and I mean there's good and bad in everything, but the I think the the good definitely outweighs the bad.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Yeah, yeah. So getting us into kind of our first topic that we want to talk about, uh Liana, uh, you are going through kind of a frustrating time right now, and that you're you're injured. And you know, talk me through your injury uh if you don't mind and kind of how that happened. And, you know, maybe your first thoughts when you realized that you were gonna be off the mats for a while, which is one of the reasons I reached out because you did a post on social media and I was like, oh wow, we've never really had someone going through it on the on the show. So yeah, talk talk us through that a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Yeah, so I'm right now I'm dealing with a torn meniscus on my left knee, um, which is kind of a good thing because it could be a lot worse. Um, so as far as injuries go, as far as like jujitsu-related injuries go, that's kind of the um lesser of the evils. So I I do have things to be grateful for in a sense. But yeah, uh I I had been dealing with like some issues with my left knee throughout the year last year. Um, and then in December I was rolling and it just shot up with pain and it felt like my knee came out of place, like it was bad. Um, but I, you know, kind of just pushed it back into place and was like, it'll be fine, you know. Um I got, I'm too busy for this, you know. So I I tried to just like take it easy for a little bit, you know. We took vacation in January, so I wasn't training for a little bit, and I tried to just rest it and go, you know, give it time to heal. Um, but then at the beginning of this month, I was rolling again and it happened again, but the pain was so much worse this time around. And um, you know, at this point, it had been a problem now for three months, a consistent daily problem for three months where it was actually impacting my life. Um, so that was on February 4th, I remember the exact date. Um, so much pain, felt like it came out of place again. Um, and so I pushed it back into place, went home, and was like, I'm just gonna sleep it off. We're gonna, you know, it'll be fine. Tried to ignore it again. My my typical response. Um, the pain kept me up all night. That's how bad it was. And I mean, as you can see, like I've got a throat tattoo. I've, you know, gave birth without an epidural. Like when I'm in pain, if I say I'm in pain, it's hurting, you know? Um, so kept me up all night. That's how bad it was. And then I got up around 3:30 in the morning to try to go to the bathroom and I fell because I could not um put weight on my my leg. So finally I was put in a position where I was forced to seek medical attention for it. I couldn't ignore it any longer. Um, so that's when I found out there is Hum meniscus, and it is unfortunately going to require surgery to fix.

SPEAKER_03 16:06

Yeah. Are you you're scheduled for surgery? Is that that's that's gotta be a little anxiety inducing. I I so I was in the military for, I don't know, a good part of my adult life, about 15, 16 years, and I was airborne, um, you know, jumped out of planes. I mean, I was the easiest recruit ever. I tell when I tell this story, I went to the recruiter's office and I want two things. I want a job I can use when I get out, right? And it and I want to jump out of airplanes. Well, I got both

MMA Gym vs BJJ Gym: Style And Culture

SPEAKER_03 16:40

pretty easy. And but anyway, long story short, on one of my uh jumps, I I burned in, right? Uh parachuting uh my main parachute didn't open. And my reserve deployed just enough to slow me down to where it didn't kill me. Um but I tore my knee up, bruised my spine, like it just it jacked me up. And I have out of all of the in injuries, the knee pain is what has stayed with me all of these years. And I there's something about because my my wife had um I don't know what did she have a knee replacement? No, she had a ligament put into her knee and or something. And it was in, you know, we we have four kids together and she said it's unbearable pain. But yeah, just I I couldn't imagine how to go through that right now. Um what do you what do you miss most about training?

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Um the outlet. Um for me, the just when I'm grappling, it's it just is kind of my my happy place, you know, like s everyone has their coping mechanisms and everyone has their enjoyment that they do to maybe like escape life or just to get you in a better mental place. And for me, that was grappling. That's where I've channeled a lot um of my, you know, my mental health issues that I deal with, like grappling and and jujitsu has really helped me through a lot. Um, so it's I miss I miss having that release.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

Yeah. I I think for me too, that would that would be the biggest thing. Um, because I um it it's such a not so much, well, it's it's a big physical part for me, but it's also huge mental like stress outlet and not to be able like to be not the situation where life kind of comes in and you can't train for a couple weeks, but like where you are you know you're gonna be down for a while, you're not gonna be rolling for you know however long. I I don't know what I would do. I would I would feel uh and maybe you do feel this, I don't know. Um there would be for me sort of like a mild depression kind of feeling. Um you know, I I don't know. I mean, is it is that something you feel? Are you are you staying connected with your with your gym, with the people?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Oh yeah, I've still I've still been going in and watching and like if there are things I can drill, I will do them. Um so I'm still engaging at going in. I've did some some striking, some boxing on Monday night. So I have been working a little bit on that. I just have to be very careful while I'm doing it, you know, not to turn my not to turn my knees while I'm doing it, but I have been able to at least work on some some striking technique. Um, so I'm still involved. It's not the same though. I will say that it's not the same, but I am still going to my gym and at least trying to still learn while I'm dealing with this and not let this completely remove me from jujitsu and from combat sports. Um I'm I definitely am not getting that same mental release. So yeah, the depression was really bad at first when I realized, like, oh gosh, you know, I'm gonna have to have surgery and I'm gonna be out, and this is like, this is a whole legit thing. And it was frustrating because I had need, I might go into a little bit of a left field here. I apologize, but I had made um a lot of progress with my jujitsu last year, like during 2025, and and everyone around me can say the same thing. Like that was where I made the most progress with my jujitsu and in my life too, because I quit drinking a year ago, which was a big accomplishment for me. But a big part of how I was able to do that was because I poured so much into training and I competed five times last year. I was training consistently, you know, four times a week, like really putting a lot into it. And it showed I got better. I mean, I I actually won a gold medal back in um September um after a few losses that I took. Um, but yeah, it's it's depressing because it's like, man, I just made all this progress. And now look at where I am. And it's now trying to figure out how to maintain my mental space too, because I deal with a lot of mental health issues, you know, some of it related to law enforcement times. It was just I've been through a lot of other not so great stuff in my life, um, you know, growing up and and whatnot. But um that's that was a big way for me to stay in a good place and to quit drinking and to keep moving in positive directions with my life. And now I don't have that. So we're kind of this is this is just another challenge, but I'm still at least showing up to learn at for now.

SPEAKER_03 22:05

I could see that being super important,

Coaching Impact And Community

SPEAKER_03 22:08

uh, staying connected. I think I would be in the same situation where I would still go in, you know, do a little bit of what we can. And I know uh some of the things we're gonna talk about is kind of, you know, uh your thoughts around what injured uh practitioners can do. And I I did, I see you have a lot of hardware back there. Are those all jujitsu medals or there's some MMA? What what's going on back there?

SPEAKER_01 22:31

They're all jujitsu ones. They're all jujitsu ones. Some of them are I call them participation medals because there was literally only me and one other girl at our you know that's bitters, that's so bittersweet.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

Uh and you see that a lot in IBJ J F. So I'm masters four now. Um, Masters four. Oh my god, I'm masters four. Um it creeps up on you. Um, and you see that, and it's bittersweet because you're like, oh, that's kind of cool, but kind of sucks. But I'm gonna get a cool picture. Especially if you trained like super hard, yeah, like for months and then nobody comes in. Um no, I uh look, I I hear too, and one of the things I want to call out um that you said is it's just I don't think people realize how healing jujitsu can be. And there's there's these these two ladies that wrote this book, um always forget the name of it. So because I have uh PTSD, you know, I did three tours to Iraq, uh, one to Afghanistan, one to Kuwait. I mean, I think I spent six years in combat zones. And um, but the therapeutic aspect of like jujitsu jujitsu and martial arts is just it's it's phenomenal. It's hard to explain, even.

unknown 23:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Um yeah, you can't. It it really does, it really does help though. It really does.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

And you would think that it would add to your trauma, right? Like getting smashed under like people or getting kicked in the face, but it's it's such an outlet. Um and and I and uh, you know, I I again I think for me that would be the biggest struggle is trying to figure out, okay, I can't slip back into the way I was. Like you said, you just overcame so much last year. And and um, you know, I think that's that's uh that would probably be the most challenging thing. And and with that, you know, what are some of the things that you're doing to kind of keep yourself besides going in? I know you talked a little bit about that is you know, are you pouring more into your business? I know it sounds like you have something that you're passionate about that's also your job, which is cool. What do you what are you doing to keep you keep yourself uh on the straight and narrow uh straight and narrow, so to speak?

SPEAKER_01 24:53

So yeah, I mean, my business keeps me very busy. That's that's one thing. I stay very busy with that. Um, and then as far as what I'm doing, um I'm just focusing again, my business, focusing on my content creation, just doing stuff on Instagram, messing around with that, which is something I kind of just recently got into. So I've been redirecting some focus into making content and having fun with that. Um, and I do go to the regular gym and I've tried to start working on like some upper body strength building, which is not the same. It does not do the same thing for me mentally that jujitsu does, but it's it's at least something somewhere for me to go, something for me to do that I can, you know, pour myself into mentally to stay focused in a positive way. Um, and that's kind of where I've just been been redirecting.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

Yeah. Yeah. I and if you think about um well, one of the reasons I I, you know, definitely wanted us to connect and and you know have a conversation about injuries is is a lot of times uh people who are injured, a lot uh they're they're injured, it seems like early on in their career, right? Kind of

The Injury: Torn Meniscus And Mindset

SPEAKER_03 26:18

when they're white belt and stuff like that, or bluebelt, like both of us. And you are a blue belt, right? I'm pretty uh remember seeing your blue belt. Yeah, we're in good company here. Um, I think blue belt's one of the most frustrating belts ever, because that's uh I only have white belt to compare it to. But um what you know, one of the things is is is I really wanted us to have this type of discussion. So those that are in the situation like you are in, um, you know, kind of sidelin here and going through all this. What are some of the things that you're learning or have learned uh that you could share with some injured practitioners and, you know, maybe around what are some of the things that they can still control? Um what are some of the things that they should do, right? Two or three things that they should should make sure they do to keep themselves, like we're talking about, mentally healthy and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

Um, I'd say definitely don't give up on on your combat sport as a hobby. Don't give up. Don't don't just say, you know what, this is it. I'm done, no more. Um do not give up on that. Do not give up on yourself because you have to remember that while, yes, this may be a little bit of a setback or a roadblock, um, you've made so much progress already. And if you just give up, you're throwing all that that you did down the drain. So you have to focus about on what you've done so far and kind of keep that as the motivation to keep yourself going despite what you may be facing in this moment. You know, most of the time I'm I'm safe to say like this is temporary. You're gonna get it fixed, you're gonna recover, and you know, it may take a little while, but there's still a future ahead of you. And you may have to do some things within limitation, you know, like I'm definitely not gonna be getting back out there and competing anytime in the the very near future, but I can still build back up and I can still go in and learn and roll. Um, so I'm thinking of what else we can do with not giving up, um making sure that, you know, in in my case, where you're using jujitsu as a way, you know, with if you used it with quitting drinking, you're using it for mental health, making sure that you're still finding healthy ways to supplement that without going back to those negative habits that you used to do. Um and how can I put this? I'd say just doing what you can. Like, like I mentioned, I'm still showing up, I'm still learning. There's still things you can do. You know, you don't have to completely remove yourself from combat sports entirely. And most coaches, I guarantee, will work with you. They'll find ways to still help you be an active participant in the sport and in the gym with the limitations that you may be facing in the moment.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

Yeah, I think those are great, uh, great shares. And um I I would agree with all of those. I I try to think about the things that that I would do. And I think for me, it's just it would be staying connected because so I'm not the best at like going out and making friends. I used to be when I was young and like in in high school, almost 30 years ago, but something about uh maybe when I left the military, I just kind of um came became more secluded and you know, going out making friendships seemed more exhausting than anything. But then when I find found jujitsu, uh now I'm like, these are these are my people. And it's so crazy because we're so different, all of us, right? We may have different, you know, political uh I almost said reviews, but views. We may have different uh um, you know, religions, whatever. All of us have different professions, uh different backgrounds, things like that. So um for me, I think staying connected would definitely be one of the uh one of the things that I that I would have to do. Um I think without it would be uh pretty bad. You know, do you find yourself studying like films and things on YouTube and IG and like I don't know if you journal or anything like that. Do you do anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 31:07

No, I don't, but I mean I do my content creation, which um it's funny that you mentioned about like how we all come from different backgrounds and views. I actually had a real showing talking about that um that I did a couple weeks ago, um, where it mentioned that same thing where it was like there's a place where people from different religions and backgrounds and whatever all come together and it showed the mats. Um, but no, I don't I don't do any of that. Um but um I I don't really watch YouTube or anything like that with jujitsu, but I come across things on Instagram just because I am pretty frequently scrolling to get content ideas for what I do. Um so if I see something cool, I'll I'll you know watch it and and save it. But um I'm still just making sure that I stay connected because I still can learn from showing up and watching at the gym.

SPEAKER_03 32:01

Yeah, yeah. And half the stuff on YouTube and IG is only works on like if they're seriously dead, laying there dead, not doing anything, right? Like some of the stuff is kind of crazy. Um well, let's uh let's take some time and and kind of pivot. Um, you know, thanks so much for uh you know sharing kind of what you're going through. I know it takes a lot of vulnerability to come on and talk about things like you know, mental health and things uh like that. But let's uh let's pivot to your time in law enforcement. Um, you know, uh I know you you you talked about finding jujitsu through law enforcement, but how did you come to you know get into law enforcement? Um, you know, maybe uh your decision to leave, and then we'll talk about I know a topic you and I want to discuss kind of the epidemic of of out-of-shape first responders. But yeah, just let's just start there.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Yeah. Um, so how I got into law enforcement, I'm kind of just random. Um I was waitressing at a casino, actually. That was what I did before that. Um I was a beverage waitress, um, you know, those little girls that walk around on the skirts and serve drinks to people gambling. Um, and

Coping Without Rolling: Staying Connected

SPEAKER_01 33:20

the sheriff's department was contracted with the reservation that the casino was on. So I got to know some of the deputies because it's night shift and, you know, there's not much going on at three in the morning, and you just kind of start talking to people. And they were telling me, like, oh, we're gonna be doing a large amount of hiring for the jail for what we were called custody deputies, because in California it's a little bit different than it is a lot of other places where corrections officers in California are considered sworn peace officers. You can make an arrest, it's a totally different setup, but we don't need to go into all the little finite details of that. But um they were like, we're gonna be hiring for custody deputies, you know, you should put in. They always need women. And I'm like, I don't know. Like, am I qualified? Like, all I've done is waitress. Like, I didn't even really finish high school. I mean, I have my my uh, you know, equivalency diploma, but um, you know, I had my son when I was 17. So it's like I don't have much, like same here. They don't have yeah, yeah, not for this job.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Yeah, yeah, I'm with you there.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Yeah. Um, so they were like, well, we're gonna be hiring. And then some of the security guards at the casino were talking about putting in for it. And I was like, you know what? Maybe I'll do it. And they're like, You're gonna do it, you know, like questioning me because it's like I'm just this little girl walking around in a skirt serving drinks. And I was like, you know what? Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try. So I I applied, I did all the tests, and I got hired. Um, and it turned out being a job that I actually really enjoyed doing. Um, like I said, I stayed with it for five years and then um I enjoyed doing it. I did a I did quite a few things while I was with the department. I worked in intake for a while where you're, you know, booking people in when they're coming, coming in off the streets when they've just gotten arrested, doing that on night shift for a good chunk of time. That was a lot of fun. Um lot of stories there, I'm sure. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Um, I was a training officer for a while too, for about two years with my department. I would train the um new custody deputies, and then I worked in transportation for a while as well. Um, and then when we moved to Arizona, um I decided to just look around and start doing new things, but I had a really hard time finding it's like when you talked about like getting out of the military, it's kind of similar to that. Like it's hard. It's hard to go into normal life when you've gotten so used to dealing with people in a certain way and dealing with certain situations and that being your normal, and then trying to go to what everybody else thinks is normal. It's it's tough.

SPEAKER_03 36:13

Oh, yeah. Yeah, extremely tough. I remember so my last unit in the military was uh the 44 Cav at Fort Riley, um, like 1st Infantry Division. And that that was my last unit. And I transitioned into uh Aetna, the healthcare insurer. I was working in Hartford at their headquarters, doing veteran hiring, like recruiting. I that so so professionally I'm an executive in recruiting and and talent acquisition for healthcare, a big healthcare company. But uh, so my career has been recruiting. But I remember like the transition was just so frustrating. And, you know, what I would see the these executives and these leaders freaking out over the smallest things. And they're like, why aren't you stressed about this missed deadline or this, you know, big meeting? I'm like, well, no one's shooting at me, you know, like nothing's blowing up around me. So why are you freaking out? Like and and like, but you're exactly you're exactly right. And it's just that adjustment's insane. I mean, I still think about it now, all these years later. Um just some of the things that that I went through. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

Yeah, yeah, it's it's tough.

SPEAKER_03 37:46

So um, you know, you you you mentioned you you transitioned uh out of of you know law enforcement. Were there some some kind of aha moments where you're like, yeah, this isn't for me? Um it looks like you kind of transitioned into opening your own business. It's around animal uh care. So I'm assuming that's something that you're super passionate about. Um kind of talk me through that.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

Yeah, so um I just kind of had that that moment. I think a lot of people, when they know, they know that that's like this is just not for me anymore. Um, so I left that profession. I am I kind of searched around and dabbled in some civilian public service jobs when we lived in Arizona. Um, did some of those, but it was it was hard. I was not cut out for being in an office at a desk and sitting still, like even right now. I can't still but um and just dealing, it's just hard to deal with things when you're so used to dealing with people and situations in a certain manner. Um, but I did I got into animal care kind of randomly. Um we I was I was needing to pick up some extra income. And so um I started pet sitting on the side, um, like on the weekends when I wasn't working my regular job. And I did not realize how much there was a need for trustworthy ethical animal care. I never realized like how much, how hard it can be to find that. Um, so my little side hustle turned into a very popular demand for for pet sitting, where I was in Arizona, I was doing like in-home pet sitting, like where I'd go to the people's houses. Um, but then we

Practical Advice For Injured Practitioners

SPEAKER_01 39:44

were blessed to find this property here in Tennessee that has an actual kennel building on it. Um, so I was able to come here and open an actual dog boarding business where people will leave their dogs at the kennel with us on the same property that I live on. Um, but I realized how much there was a need for that. So I I started going that route because the stories that I have heard with animal care, it's pretty sad. Um, because you have a lot of people that unfortunately get into it for the wrong reasons. Yeah. Um, so I went through the catch, like you mentioned, I went through the catch canine trainers academy. Um so I don't offer dog training as a service right now, but I do have education regarding it for positive reinforcement dog training. So that's all reward-based training methods. Like we don't use any kind of punitive or aversive management techniques with dogs. Um I'm also a certified fear-free professional in the boarding industry. Um, so same goes for my kennel. We don't use any kind of punitive or aversive corrective management techniques with the dogs that are in our care. Um, and so that's kind of how I got into that was just seeing the need for it and it being something that I enjoyed doing. I was good working with animals and I enjoyed it a lot more than working with people. And it was something I could I could work into where I'm able to move around. I'm not stuck sitting at a desk. And yeah, it's it's something where I just I felt I felt comfortable with it and it's done really well.

SPEAKER_03 41:31

Yeah, it's I think it's I think it's nice in life for those of us who can, you know, work in one a positive environment. Like you said, uh, I you know, you you knew for a fact you weren't a sit in office uh type person. Uh, but when we get to work kind of in our passion, right? Um I I'm lucky in that uh there were times where I had to sit in the office and I don't like it so much. I work from home now, but I do get to work with people a lot. And you know, it's it people are kind of my passion. Um this is the third podcast I think I've I've watched. I just obviously like talking more than anything. Um, but it's gotta be a good feeling, right? Uh every day to wake up and kind of work in something that you enjoy. And I think that goes uh works even better for your customers, knowing that they're they're leaving their, you know, I mean, most people look at their pets as their children. Like it almost should be a daycare, right?

SPEAKER_05 42:36

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:37

Um it's just gotta be a plus, you know, to hear uh the owner of a business kind of talk passionately about like this is what I am here to do. Um but before we continue to talk more about um the business, let's let's back up and and talk about. I know a topic you and I uh kind of started discussing in in in our intro call when we kind of first connected, is you know, just overall physical health and the importance of it in with first responders. I mean, I'm sure you've seen firsthand how it can positively and negatively impact those, say, in law enforcement or what have you. I mean, what are some of your initial thoughts around uh it looks like almost an epidemic uh going on there?

SPEAKER_01 43:24

Yeah. So there definitely needs to be more emphasis on wellness in the first responder community, a hundred percent. Um, I was not very healthy when I was working there either. You know, you eat people, most people are not eating well because you're and and you also have to look at some of the factors of it too. You know, you're working long hours, there's a lot of mandatory overtime because you're short staffed. Um, so there are factors there, but it's it's now that I'm older, you know, I'm sitting here looking back, I'm like, it's not an excuse. Like, I should have done better for myself. Um, but There is not really some departments, I think there probably is, but I think a lot of them, the health and wellness standards and and priority just kind of does not get get addressed the way that it should. You have so many overweight cops. And it's it's sad. It really is sad. And and a lot of them aren't training combat sports either. Um, and it's a job where you really have to be in good shape physically because you have to be able to control combative subjects. Um, so I think that definitely needs to be more um prioritized the wellness, the physical fitness, eating better. And I think about it, you know, at the jail, they would give us a lunch while we were working there. They would have staffed dining area, and it was always really disgusting food, like always very tacos, yeah, yeah. Very carb-heavy, fried, um, just you know, not healthy foods. And um, so I think, yeah, it definitely needs to be um needs to be prioritized more for our first responders to have them in better, better health.

SPEAKER_03 45:17

Are there wellness programs in place? Do

Pivot To Law Enforcement Backstory

SPEAKER_03 45:20

uh like, you know, I think you said you worked at a uh a department close to LA, and I would imagine like there would be some type of of wellness coaching, or I mean, is there anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 45:33

No, there really wasn't that much, no. I mean, there really wasn't too much of an emphasis on it, surprisingly, at least when I was there. I don't know, maybe things have changed. I I've been gone for a while now, but um, it sounds like a need, an opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 45:51

I uh I think about the military, right? And in my mind, it it like it's obvious the reason soldiers need to be at a certain degree of physical fitness. I mean, you have to run with body armor on and packs and weapons and still like jump and all of this, right? There's agility, there's stamina, there's all of that. But like I don't see a huge difference between that, a firefighter and a police officer, and even you know, EMTs, like first responders, like there should be a degree, a level of general fitness. And I think I know nothing about this. That's why I said I think like I would imagine to get into like something like the police academy, there's minimal fitness standards you have to meet. I don't know if there's a test or whatever you have to take, but like in the army, like every six months you had to pass an APFT, right? A physical fitness test. Same with all the other four, four plus uh four branch, well, I guess it's Space Force now. So five crazy. Uh don't get me on that. Uh five branches of of of service. Um but yeah, I I guess my question is like, uh do you think like they should move to something like that? Like this is mandatory standards, checks, and balances kind of deal.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

I yes, I I do. And and there is, so there is when you first get hired, um, at least the department I was with, and and I think um there are a lot of departments that also do it. Um, there is when you initially get hired a physical test you have to pass. There is, I know we had to do, I can't remember the exact test because this is 10 years ago, but we had to do, you know, like a dummy drag and a run and push-ups. I mean, there was we had to pass, and then we had to go through the police academy, well, corrections academy, um, which is crazy to me that some states and departments don't have an academy for corrections officers. Um, I've learned since moving.

SPEAKER_03 47:59

So you can go from working at Dollar General to correction officer.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

Uh yeah, which is crazy to me. But we had to go through an academy where it was, you know, running pushups. It was, you know, paramilitary-style academy where we had to do a lot of physical fitness. We were running a lot and and doing push-ups every day and a lot of PT. But then after that, there's nothing. And there wasn't any like reoccurring, like you said, in the military where you have these reoccurring standards that you're held to and these tests you have to pass. There was none of that. It was your initial test to get in, you get through the academy, but then after that, there's no more physical agility that you have to maintain. Um, and I think there there definitely should be, but I think a lot of the issue we might run into with that is because so many departments are so short staffed already that are they really gonna implement this? Probably not, because they they're so desperate just to have people there to fill that position.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

Yeah, that that that's a great point. Um and and if I think about it, um so so it's been about it's been 14 years since I left. Um, so I was medically retired in 2014, went to uh the sandbox one too many times and got injured. Um but yeah, I I see when when I was getting ready to leave, I was a senior leader on the enlisted side, and I remember that from boot camp from basic training, we were getting soldiers who couldn't meet height and weight standards, and it was because numbers were short, right? Um, so I don't know what it looks like now, but I bet you like this this uh uh issue of of critical understaffing plays a huge part in what we're accepting and putting out on the streets and putting out on the battlefield. And and you and I, and here's something um that that I think about I don't know how much of it is uh let's say a BMI issue rather than uh hey, I can protect myself because let me tell you, I've rolled with some really out-of-shape people that have killed me because they knew, you know, you you get an out-of-shape brown belt in their 50s, in their mid-50s, and you tell me if if you think you could handle them in their in the street, because I don't think you can.

SPEAKER_02 50:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:41

Um, because they crushed me and I'm I'm pretty in shape. And yeah, no. So so I I guess the the discussion or the question um conversation here is if departments aren't going to invest in you know wellness programs and all these things that can be expensive and and hold people to a certain BMI or body fitness site, shouldn't they be preparing them and investing into some type of martial arts training like jujitsu, like a requirement kind of deal? Like, hey, you will go to X amount of classes at this MMA school.

SPEAKER_01 51:21

I I agree. I think it would be fantastic to get law enforcement trained in jiu-jitsu because I know that when I was learning it, even in the beginning, like it was helping me at my job. It was helping me deal with hands-on situations and do so in an appropriate manner. Um, I think the issue with that is just again, the funding and the organization of it and getting people to want to do it. And that's a big thing I see, at least here in the South, because I know you and I aren't too far from each other. The the first responders in law enforcement here are grossly underpaid.

SPEAKER_05 51:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:57

And when you're not paying people a decent wage, I mean, one, good luck getting good people in the first place, but then getting them to take time to go and do these extracurricular things for that position is also going to be very hard. But I think that it would be a very, you know, as a taxpayer, I think it would be a very worthwhile investment to get our law enforcement some type of programs where they they are getting incentivized to go and train because it it helps. It will help them. I think it would definitely help um use of force lawsuits, um, because it at least I found it helps you be able to control a combative subject without really hurting them. Yeah. You know. Um that's a great point, right?

SPEAKER_03 52:50

That's a great point. Is, you know, it it would because that's all you see on the news now, right? Is you know, officer pulled gun and killed, you know, suspect. What it and and uh look, uh I've been shot at, I've shot at people, I get it. It it it's a high anxiety thing, and especially the first time. Um, but if you have this other alternative confidence, like, hey,

Leaving The Badge: Finding Animal Care

SPEAKER_03 53:20

look, this guy's resisting me. I don't have to pull out a taser and or mix up and shoot him with my gun or something. I don't have to even pull my gun because you know what? I'm about to get this dude in a camora, and they're gonna do exactly what I want them to do. Or I'm gonna, you know, I'm doing a wrist lock on them or something like that, and I guarantee you we're we're not gonna have any issues putting the cuffs on and things like that. But like there has to be a standardization across the board. And then when it goes to pay, like what you said, there's such a pay inequity in this country when it comes to teachers and law enforcement. I mean, out in Cali, you got to have a master's degree to get that six-figure income in like eight to ten years. Here, I don't know any law enforcement patrol officers making six figures. No, I mean, there's not a county or a state in the southeast.

SPEAKER_01 54:08

No. And I was making six figures working in the jail in California. I mean, because but we had, I mean, we had way more training and certifications than any other corrections officer seeing elsewhere. Um, so there's that to account for as well. Um, like I see the county I live in here, their jail. They don't even like it's it's just here's the keys and go. It's honestly, it's quite terrifying. It's quite terrifying. But maybe that's the incentive, right?

SPEAKER_03 54:40

Maybe that's an incentive. Hey, you go get this training, you get these skills and certified, you're gonna get the higher pay echelon.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

Yeah. Oh, yeah. And it definitely would help to have that. And I think that getting more cops to train jujitsu would really be beneficial. And it it would help the departments because, like I said, you're gonna, you're gonna have them, they're gonna be able to better respond to situations where they have to use force. Therefore, it reduces the lawsuits, it, it keeps, it keeps everybody safe. It keeps your officer safe, it keeps the public safe. Because, like you said, you see these videos online, and there was there was one I watched last week. I'd reposted it on my story, and it was it was physically painful for me to watch it, where it was involving a female cop and she shot the guy. And I was just watching it and I'm like, what is going on? Like she didn't even try to control him physically with her body or her hands or anything. Um, and I can say, I mean, I was never, like I said, I was not on the street. I did transportation for a while, but even in the jail, I mean, you're dealing with combative people a lot. And you have people with weapons in there still. But out of the five years that I worked in that position, um, I never used my pepper spray and I used my taser once. And that's because the guy got a hold of some scissors and started stabbing himself in the neck. So obviously, a situation like that, you you have you're not gonna go hands-on with somebody. I'm not saying that we should be, you know, going hands-on with people who have weapons by no means. Um, and by no means am I some use of force expert either, but you know, it's the jujitsu helped me avoid having to use those tools in a lot of situations.

SPEAKER_03 56:31

I um I I I think so. Every how do I want to say this? Um every profession has, you know, these these segments in it, right? And I think in law enforcement, right, what you talking, you're talking a lot about is your time as a corrections officer. And I don't see how you would allow yourself to be in that position and not have some kind of formal training to protect yourself, like if someone grabs you or and and again, I'm not saying it has to necessarily be jujitsu, jujitsu. It probably shouldn't be karate, but it definitely you know, I just think jujitsu is probably most effective there. Um, but you need to have something because how could you not walk into your job every day terrified? And if you're scared and if you know you feel unprepared, I mean you you're in there with these people aren't just in there but uh by accident. They're in there because they have been convicted, they are in, you know, especially if it's a state or federal prison, right? You don't just go and hang out there, right? Um these these these people are are in there and a lot of them have bad intention, especially I would imagine when it comes to females and to not be able to defend yourself, you know, and definitely not, you know, um, you know, a male-female type thing type thing, because I know some some females that could can mess some people up and mess me up on the map still. So but no, it's just uh you know, it's kind of some random thoughts on it.

SPEAKER_01 58:15

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_03 58:17

So if um you know if if you could think of um maybe top two or three things you would love to see law enforcement or first responders implement over the next, you know, two to five years to to help with what you and I see as kind of an epidemic. And I don't think too many people would disagree, maybe, but I don't see how you could go on social media and and do so. What would you what would you say um you'd like to see?

SPEAKER_01 58:49

Um I guess just taking better care of themselves, getting more of that emphasis of eating better, keeping their health better, staying in better shape. That's something I would definitely like to see for from more first responders is just taking better care of themselves. And it's it's for your own well-being too. Like not just in not just with the intention for your job, but just for yourself. Taking care of yourself is so important and it'll help you mentally too, because the job is very draining mentally. But if you're, you know, you can take steps, and and that's just in general in life, you can take steps to feel better and it makes a difference when your diet is is good, you're not filling yourself up with crappy food, you know, you feel better. And in turn, that helps with your mental clarity too. Same with exercising, it again, you feel better. You just genuinely feel better when you're taking better care of your body.

SPEAKER_03 59:49

Yeah. Yeah. I I think those would be great. Like I said, I I think the implementation of some kind of standardized physical fitness

Opening A Fear-Free Dog Lodge

SPEAKER_03 59:57

evaluation every X amount of months. I mean, it's I I hope we we we see some some changes in it. Um, but I mean, honestly, I uh who knows if we will because it goes to the the great point you made is a lot of this happens because of understaffing. And until more people, right, want to be corrections officers. And I I don't think I that's something I would I would have the courage to do. I mean, that's that's a dangerous job. Um I I kind of left all that stuff back in my past. I'm more of this the safe, comfortable, cozy uh jobs these days. But uh yeah, it's it's a it's a catch 22, right? I remember when I was in my MBA program, they they taught us uh, you know, the they call it the it's either the fool's choice or the sucker's choice. Basically, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't, right? And yeah, you know, uh it may be the situation there. So well, uh one thing uh Liana sometimes I like to do, I guess, is just play a little kind of rapid fire uh question thing. And I I didn't send you these questions, so uh a couple of may put you on the spot and just uh feel free to say pass or what have you, but it's it's related to jujitsu, so nothing you know too too crazy. Um do you prefer gi or no gi?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

No gi.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:26

Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that. I don't know. Your whole content. I don't think I've ever seen you in a gi on your content, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:33

It's very rare these days.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:35

Well, I mean, jujitsu has to have those people too. So no. I uh I have to uh I'm a fan of Ghee because I'm old and not athletic and I have to slow people down. So um gets on my okay. So thinking about um anybody from the past or present, and it could be current training partners or what, but who would you say that you would most like to roll with? For example, mine is Holes Gracie. I would love to do a role or a training session or a seminar or something with with holes if you were still alive.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:12

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:13

That's a good question. Most people have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:16

I know that's a tough one because it's like I have to think of like professional um, oh boy, that's a tough one. Professional, like we're talking like professional-wise.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:28

It could be professional, it could be an Instagram person that you know, it could be somebody. Um, well, you you kind of train and roll with your professor, I'm sure, already. But um, yeah, just it just anybody. Uh, like me, another person, I I wouldn't mind rolling with Tom Hardy. I think that's cool. You know, he's a purple belt now, and he would absolutely kill me, but I think it'd be a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:52

Um that's a good question. Um, there's some girls I see on Instagram doing content. There's a few of them that I would probably um enjoy rolling with. I know there's um there's one girl. I think um I I've come across her videos a couple of times, and I guess I'm kind of just drawn out of the bag at this point because I don't really know how to answer this. But there's one girl I see her videos a lot. Um, her name is Taylor Moore, I think. Um, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:22

I think I've seen some of her stuff. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:24

Yeah. She's a smaller girl, but she's like the I've seen her do some like really awesome guillotines. Um, and she's I I like her like whenever I come across her videos because there's not just one submission that I see her going for. Like she gets all sorts of different, like she'll do ankle walks sometimes and she does guillotines. Like, you know, some people they have like their specialty that you know they're gonna use to go for the submission. But like this girl, whenever her videos pop up, like she's always got something different that she's using as a submission. And I think that's really cool because it's like you don't know what they're gonna do. So she's one that I that I kind of admire quite a bit, that I've come across her stuff um on social media a few times.

Fitness Crisis In First Responders

SPEAKER_03 1:04:17

I like watching uh uh Helena. She posts some pretty good content, Helena. I think Harvard she's really cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:25

She's she's the big one right now in the scene.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:29

Right. A lot of people are like, yeah, I like the girl with the pigtails. I would like that. Um what's your favorite submission?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:37

Um, I think a lot of success.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:41

Well, top three. Okay. Well, I've had good success with guillotines. I'm I'm pretty good with those. Um if I can get the back, sometimes I can I can do some decent rare naked chokes. I mean, which is like the number one most used submission in the UFC.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:58

So that one. And then I'm I've been lately, I've been this past year. I mean, you know, before I got into it, I started getting a lot more into triangles and getting a lot more success with triangles. Um, so I'd say that one's definitely on my list right now, just because I've been I've been hitting a lot more success with it recently.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:19

So I have an embarrassing share when it comes to triangles. I am like four years into training for some change, and I'm just now like getting to where I can get through the proper mechanics of a triangle. Like for the longest time, like I would, you know, put the arm on the wrong side of my body, and then I fixed that. And then I would I would rotate my I would hip escape instead of rotate my body. So they would just like pull their head out. And I'd it's so crazy because most of my, I would say 90 plus percent of my submissions are chokes, just because there's a little more. Athleticism in the locks, right? For an arm bar you have to lean, spin all that. And um, yeah, but I'm excited. I'm I'm feeling pretty pretty dangerous with triangles now after four years of training. And it's the most, you know, one of the fundamental submissions we learn, but it's effective, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:19

Um it is, yeah. And I mean, but just like with all of them, like you have to do it right for it to be effective. And sometimes it can take a minute to get exactly to get that right angle. It's all about the angles, so it's it's it's you know, you could be embarrassed of.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:35

It's always been real steppy, like I'm I'm not into steppy jujitsu where like show me something I can I can do with like three movements or less. And that's why chokes. I uh actually I'm doing a lot of lapel stuff now, and that's fun. Um but uh no, what is uh kind of a last question here in this um put you on the spot type questioning is uh what what's your most memorable moment from the mat?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:09

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:11

Um these are so on the spot questions, I get it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:15

That's so hard. I'm trying to think. I guess like I'd say when I when I won when I won my competition, that's probably always gonna be the memorable first win that I had. Um because it was such an accomplishment for me.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:34

When I won. Like I worked so hard and I I lost multiple times before that, but I didn't give up and I kept going. Um, so I'd I'd say definitely the first time that I won at a competition will always have a special feeling with me.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:51

Oh, that's an it's an amazing feeling, right? I um so when I first competed as a white belt, I I won on points. Um, I won that match. It was like 27 or 28 to like two, because he got the takedown. And but what I was doing, I don't know if I knew I was doing this, but I would get into his half guard and I would escape half guard to mount, and then I would let him get me into half guard and escape into mount. And but the whole time I was trying to submit him, I just couldn't. But I didn't realize I was doing this transition back and forth, back and forth. So I was getting like four, four, four, fours like and um, but then I think some of my saddest times have come at competition. Um and it's not that so much that I lost, but how I lost. Um, and very kind of in my mind, I I think I put a lot of pressure on myself. I'm starting to realize that in this conversation. Maybe I put a little too much pressure on myself because I um like I went to pull half guard. Um, I don't know if you know who uh Bernardo Faria is, and uh he pulls half guard this certain way. I mean, half guards this whole game. And I went to one of his seminars, and or actually he had done a seminar at Alliance, and it was amazing. And uh he showed me how he pulls half guard for standing. Uh, but I was I was going against a wrestler, uh college wrestler, and uh when I went to do it, basically long story short, I pulled the guy right into side control, and not only that, dude fell into like a paper cutter choke. I mean, the match was over in like 20 to 30 seconds, and that was a this was my first competition as a blue belt. And I was just like, oh my god, that was terrible.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:52

And that's tough.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:54

It was, it was, and I still think about it, and I think I haven't I actually haven't competed since. And it's not that uh there's been life stuff that that's kept me in competing, but um it does it it's kind of like a plus and a minus when it comes to competition. It can be some of your best memories and some of your worst, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:17

I've had some some not so good memories from them too. There's been some some tough losses I took that were that were not fun, that were, you know, I'd won the one that the one that sucks. Well, there's a few, but back in April, the competitor I was supposed to have didn't show up. So they threw me with some girl that was, you know, bigger and and younger and in the pro division. And like I I got I got it got handed to me, you know, but like it sucked because it was like, you know, this wasn't supposed to happen. Right like this, I wasn't supposed to be going up against this girl. I was supposed to have a competitor in my age and weight bracket, and then I get stuck with something else, and here I am, you know, losing within a minute and a half, and it's like

Standards, Staffing, And Training Gaps

SPEAKER_01 1:11:06

it wasn't supposed to go like this, but yeah, it's frustrating, especially all the time you put into training, like you're training for like your weight, your division, your your speed, your tempo, and then you get this ultra competitor that you like you you you haven't like you could probably do a lot better if you spent two or three months training for somebody like that.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:29

But what do you do, right? Um, Liana, this is this has been a great conversation. I know we're a little over an hour here. Um so just a you know, a couple more questions and then and you you've also started an online business now, right? You you you were like jump or are you doing something online? I thought I saw like you were just getting out there.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:54

I do some affiliate marketing, which is just like different companies where you promote their stuff and then you get commission if they purchase. I have you know the shirt pretty and violent from grapple or die.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:05

I'm I'm a it for him and your affiliate sponsor of grappler or die.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:11

So if people use my code when they buy their stuff, then you can see.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:21

We'll definitely put that in the show notes here.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:24

Um yeah, definitely. And I'm also an affiliate for make wellness, which is bioactive peptides, which I know like that's kind of a thing now, and it's great for athletic people. Um, they've got lots of different um lines of products specifically for um for athletic people as well, and just everyday people. So that's kind of just that just some of my little side hustles that I that I throw in there online too.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:52

One I did see a post, um, I don't know if it was about peptides, but like so Ozempic came on the market and just like had this what like cult going after. And I and I um, you know, I know the benefits of of peptides and stuff like that, but like what are your I mean, I know we're gonna get a little bit of a topic here, and so we can go a little bit longer if we need to, but um like what are your thoughts on these uh was it GLPs and stuff like that for health? I mean, it's I it's gotta be doing some damage, huh?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:27

I'm not a fan, and I mean I'm not a medical professional, so I mean, don't, you know, don't don't take advice from me who's ever listening, you know. But um I just I'm very weary of pharmaceutical products to begin with anyway. Um, I think definitely there are, I'm thankful we have certain pharmaceuticals and we have the advancements in medicine that we have. Obviously, you know, dealing with a knee injury right now. I'm very grateful that I can go and get surgery to correct this. Oh, of course, yeah. But I'm very weary. I'm very weary of a lot of of a lot of mainstream daily pharmaceuticals that are pushed on us. And um it scares me this whole Ozempic GLP1 injection trend because um I don't I just don't trust something that that can make you lose that much weight. I don't think it's healthy either because I'm seeing a lot where it's like people just aren't eating because of it, I guess. And um, you need to eat.

unknown 1:14:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:30

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:30

And I think it's just it's taking it's taking things in the wrong direction. And I understand there are people that struggle with weight loss. There are people that have a hard time, harder time than others, but I don't think this is the solution for it. Um, and I think that women specifically are gonna be harmed from this because it does decrease your muscles quite a bit. And as women, we already are dealing with less muscle mass to begin with. And I think the long-term effects from these injections are really gonna wreak havoc on women's health in in the long run. And it's gonna, it's it's not gonna be good.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:07

I've been thinking, like, I think it's not something we're seeing right away. I think it's gonna show up like in the health statistics over, you know, the next five, 10 years, like, oh wow. Because I mean that happened, that's how these things happen, right? This new thing comes on the market. Yeah. Do you do you remember? This is not me asking your age, but like exphedrin, is it exphedrin that came out, the weight loss drug? Um, and everybody was like, oh, on it. And it was you had to drink a ton of water. I remember that was being a sounds expedrin. Sounds very yeah, it you you can Google it, but it starts with it.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:45

I think I know uh-huh. I think I know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:49

But it came out, and then all of a sudden, like doctors were like, do not take this, you're gonna have a heart attack and die. And like third of the population was taking it, and they had to like put out this. And I wonder, I wonder if like that's gonna be the same with GLPs. I wonder.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:07

I'm I'm thinking, and I just I think that it's just I don't know enough about it. And people gaining it, yeah, and people are gaining the weight right back if they stop taking it. And that's the problem, is it's just there's there's just there needs to be a better, a better way to go about these things. And we do have some options with the peptides that actually help because I've been using I'm the lean one, and the only reason I've kind of been using it is because I am not able to exercise as much as I normally am. I don't want to gain weight during this just because I'm not able to be as active as I normally would be. Um, I do eat pretty healthy, like that is one big thing I do, I have really become a proponent of is your diet makes a huge difference in how you feel and how your physical health and everything. Um, so I am pretty good with my diet, but just because I'm less active, I have been taking the lean product through um make wellness with the peptides that I do help sell. Um, and it does help like the junk food cravings. It doesn't, it doesn't make it where you don't eat. So that's why I like it, is it doesn't make it where you don't eat. Like I still am eating a healthy amount, but it definitely does help with a little bit of curbing those those intense cravings that you can get just because I can't afford right now to be really giving in to those to those junk food cravings that that may pop up.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:35

Uh yeah, I um I went through this most unhealthy weight loss that you could probably imagine. Like I totally did everything wrong. So when I came out of the military, I was in good shape. Um cut. I was I was I looked pretty good. I felt pretty confident. And um, and then yeah, I started eating at the Etna cafeteria. They had like anything you want made to order. So I was eating like tacos, not taco Tuesday, but tacos Monday through Thursday. I love tacos. Um but yeah, it like I got up to like two

Why Departments Need Jiu-Jitsu

SPEAKER_03 1:18:16

something, two plus. And um cholesterol shot up everything. Uh but what I did so I I don't know if you're you're familiar with like ADHD medications like uh Adderall, and then there's this one called Vivants, and it's for binge eating. And I started taking that. But it again, long story short, I was burning like 1300 calories a day, training jujitsu twice a day, sometimes three times a day, but only taking in like 600. So I I got down to like 170 something, and I was I looked sick, and my my body started eating my muscle. And like it was so the importance of doing things right, and like now, yeah, like all weight loss is in my mind, and again, I'm like you, I'm not a healthcare professional. Um that would be a scary thought, but um it's it's a caloric deficit. Burn more than you take in. That's it. Burn more than you take in, and you'll lose and maintain whatever weight you need. Um but I do think there's a little bit more to it now that I get older, right? Like for guys, this appropriate testosterone levels. You can't you can't uh deny the importance of of peptides and and their play across you know male and female, right? Um so no, it's it's good. Um I know we went on a uh another topic there. Thanks for hanging around. Um any final thoughts as we get get to the end, or uh especially around those who are are like yourself, kind of on the sideline. Um, and I don't mean that in a negative way, but just kind of going through an injury and maybe they're they're getting into the to their feelings, right? They're getting into the the negative mental side. Just what are some of your final thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:18

Yeah. Um, just again, like I said, don't don't give up on combat sports. Um, this is temporary. You're gonna get through it. Don't give up. Still do what you can to be active if that means like what I'm doing, where you're going and at least watching and just still involving yourself in that environment so you can still keep it fresh in your mind and still learn. Um, and also it does show your coach too, like, hey, I'm still here, you know, I'm sticking with this. And they they like to see that type of stuff that you're that that shows that you are dedicated to it. Um, and just make sure you're still finding those positive ways. If you are, especially if you are someone like me who's dealing with mental health, you know, you and I touched on the PTSD stuff and all that. Like if you're somebody who's using jujitsu to work through those mental struggles that you deal with, it is so important to still find some way to keep that that that mind occupied so that you don't end up going crazy and going back into those bad mental spots and relapsing if that's the case. If you're somebody who's you know gotten away from abusing alcohol or whatnot, um, it's still so important to just keep yourself in a good spot mentally as as much as you can, because it is hard. It's hard. I've I've had some moments the past the past month where I've I've my I haven't been the best mentally. Um but it's just so important to just not give up on combat sports and not give up on yourself.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:51

Yeah. No, that's perfect. That is perfect. And for those who are listening, uh, you have multiple ways to connect, but how how would you like to uh you best connect with uh the listeners if they want to reach out?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:04

Um, so I'm on Instagram. I have a kind of a funny handle. Um, there's reasons behind it. So it's wildass warrior woman. Wildass dot warrior dot woman. And I kind of came up with that. I mean, it sounded cool, but also because um I really like donkeys. I have a donkey tattoo there with my Arizona flag. Oh I so astounded.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:25

I fell in love with known that. We would have so gone into that. That is so cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:31

Um, so yeah, donkeys. I fell in love with donkeys when we lived in Arizona, and I'd say Arizona was probably my favorite place for nature. Like there's so many beautiful places to explore, and the hiking scene out there is phenomenal. Um, but I started to learn a lot about donkeys because you have wild donkeys out there. There's a lot of them. Oh, wow. Um, and they're so cool. Yeah, I have pictures. I'll have to say that.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:53

I haven't thought about seeing donkeys in the wild. Think about horses.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:58

Oh, they have yes, they have wild donkeys. There are wild donkeys all over Arizona. Maybe I'll do a little Instagram post with my my pictures with the wild donkeys because I have some photos of me with the wild donkeys when we lived in Arizona. Um, but I just fell in love with them and I started learning more and more about donkeys. And here we go. We're gonna go get on a topic of of learning about asses today. But um they um what what drew me about them is that there was a lot of similarities where um a lot of people think they're stubborn, but they're actually not stubborn, they're just very intuitive creatures, and if they know something is not good for them, they're not gonna enter. They're not gonna go. They will not, even if you train them, whatever, if they know a situation is not good, they're not going. And um, so they're very intuitive animals, and also they are just as strong as a horse, even though they are smaller. Oh wow. So there's there's a lot of, and I mean, we could go down the rabbit hole with that, but like there's just a lot of things that I learned about them that I just fell in love with donkeys. And so that kind of just came up with that handle a while back because there was just parts of it that I felt like incorporated with me, like with my love for the wild donkeys and just the the way I connected with them and just

Rapid Fire: Styles, Idols, Submissions

SPEAKER_01 1:24:20

I would have never put that together.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:22

Yeah, I would have never like the ass is like literally talking about a donkey. Right? Yeah, not just not just like wild, crazy. Yeah, that's that's cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:32

Well, that I mean, that's really pretty wild, but yeah, I mean that's kind of the story behind how I came up with that handle and it just kind of flowed really cool. Wild ass warrior woman. Um but yeah, there's that was kind of the reasoning behind it was that I I fell in love with wild donkeys when we lived in Arizona. Um and they became my my favorite animal that I just connected with. Um, but yeah, that's how I'm on there. Uh wildass.warrior.woman. I do some fun content stuff, but you're more than welcome to follow me, send me a message, I'll actually talk with you. Um and um that's how we're here. I'll actually reply. Yeah. Yeah. I I'll talk to people. Um, and I'm very big on community and building networks up um because I think that community is a lost value in current society. So I do a lot of like networking locally as far as with other businesses, and I host like some networking socials and stuff because I feel that community is just really important. So yeah, get in touch with me there and um let's be friends.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:35

So uh also if um if anyone is in your, as we say in the southeast, your neck of the woods in Tennessee and and want to find a great place for their four-legged family members. Any any oh yeah, anywhere they can connect with you there?

SPEAKER_01 1:25:52

Yeah, so I'm I'm near Chattanooga. I'm about uh 30, 45 minutes from Chattanooga, and our business is called Liberty Acres Dog Lodge. And you can go on Liberty Acres Dog Lodge.com or we are on Facebook as Liberty Acres Dog Lodge and Homestead. If you want to give our Facebook a follow, that is much appreciated. We love you know anybody interacting with us, as you know, helps boost the algorithm, um, helps get my posts seen a little bit more for the business. Um, so yeah, if you want to check that out, um, or if you're ever in this area, I like I said, I train at Militia MMA, come check out the gym. It's a great place. Um, also, if you're in the area, real quick, um, I know I talked to you about this on March 20th in Atlanta. My training partner, Mary. Yes, my training partner, Mary Rosenbeck, she is like the sweetest person ever. And it's funny, before I was training at Militia, Mary was actually the first opponent I ever had in a competition. Um then we ended up at the same gym later on. But she's super nice, awesome girl. She has an MMA fight in Atlanta on March 20th. Um, and if you go to her Instagram page, she has the link for the tickets there. And so if you are in the Atlanta area, come come watch her fight, come support her, buy those tickets through her Instagram page um to help support her and her uh MMA journey that she's on.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:21

Yeah, I'm excited to connect with her. I we we spoke uh briefly through a couple of DMs. Thanks for making that connection. And absolutely I'm I plan to get out there as well, so we'll probably get to see each other face to face and watch uh Mary compete. And it's also funny you had mentioned because the first person that I competed again is a white belt and they beat me. Uh, he and I are pretty good friends and stay connected now. Um but that's awesome. No, thank you so much for uh coming on and spending uh the hour plus here with me. And to all of the listeners, those of you who are dealing with uh maybe injuries, or maybe you're a first or responder and listening to this and you know uh feel and uh the kind of the same way Liana and I do. Um you know drop a comment, respond.

Intro/Outro 1:28:10

Um we'll have all of her uh uh links and and websites and the in the show notes and again uh thank you so much for uh being here uh Liana has been a great great time thank you for having me and that's the final tap on today's episode of Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu 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 ghys crisp your coffee strong and always be prepared for the next role