WOMEN ON THE MATS

My name is Jade Campbell and I am a brown belt BJJ instructor/coach at Midnite Jiu Jitsu in Totnes. I am not a competitor at this stage in my life, but I am more than a hobbyist. I LOVE training, it is literally my life. I am at Midnite 6 days a week, often rolling, sometimes just drilling, (nursing an injury) and other times coaching the tribe.

I started my BJJ journey in Jan 2014 at Fightworx Academy, Torquay. I was a 32-year-old mum of two boys, a little overweight, underconfident and had absolutely no experience in grappling or Martial Arts of any sort. I met Isaac at work and he spent two years relentlessly talking to me about BJJ, about how I should try it, about how my Judo brown belt partner Dan should give it a go, about how amazing it was. Eventually I succumbed and Dan and I turned up one Sunday afternoon. I was so anxious, but I loved it and I never stopped training from that day onwards.

I supported Isaac to open up Midnite Jiu Jitsu in my home town on 17 December 2021 and overnight I was able to triple the volume of training I had been doing because I could just walk to the gym every day. Isaac was a huge support and advocate and encouraged me to teach my first ever class as a purple belt in the new gym on 18 Feb 2022.

We then agreed that I would lead the women’s program at Midnite and on 26 November 2022, I ran my first women’s class. At Midnite we believe in integrating everyone together in training, but recognise that for women, BJJ can feel quite overwhelming and intimidating. We wanted to reduce barriers and access to training for them, and create a space where women could feel comfortable to give BJJ a go.

Not only did we want to create an inclusive space for beginners; we also wanted to create an environment where more experienced women in BJJ can train together.

I am passionate and dedicated to encouraging more women to train BJJ. Rosie, Madison and I all felt the same and knew we needed to support one another in this mission. So, in October 2024, Rosie, Madison and I hosted our inaugural Women’s Open Mat at Midnite Jiu Jitsu and it was a huge success. We then found more women wanting to host an open mat in their gym, so we coordinated a schedule for the year, with the idea to build community, socialise, train as we need to and support the women training together in South West Devon.

After a successful year, we are scheduling another round with the next open mat coming up on Saturday 6 September, 11am until 1pm at Midnite Jiu Jitsu in Totnes.

Follow Jade on Instagram @curious_jadey or Midnite Jiu Jitsu @midnite.jiujitsu for more.