By Caitlin Molloy
A cardinal rule when stepping onto the mats at Back to Basics is to take your shoes off. No exceptions. Every Sunday at ten in the morning, a group of women can be found barefoot on the cold mats of the gym. The air is quiet as they wait for their teacher to join them on the mat.
Back to Basics is a Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling, MMA, and yoga studio on Newbury Street in Boston. Victoria Perez teaches a free women's only Jiu-Jitsu class every Sunday, a class that has been free since her husband opened the gym in 2021
The classes begin with all eyes on Perez as she leads warm-ups, such as jumping jacks, body weight squats, and crunches. Then the live demonstrations begin. Perez shows how to complete a triangle choke step by step, both with and without an assistant. Then, the women pair off and begin to practice what they have watched.
“We are extremely inclusive. We are built to be a safe space for anyone who properly self identifies as a woman," Perez says. "Jiu-Jitsu can be pretty intimidating. The barrier for women entering the sport is actually quite high. We wanted to try to lower that barrier to entry for women on the mats. And then the free women's class was born” Perez said.
Entering a highly physical sport like Jiu-Jitsu can be daunting for some women because most classes tend to be mostly men. The free women’s class helps make starting and practicing Jiu-Jitsu more accessible for those looking for community, practice, or a starting point.
Student Sasha Giniger has been learning Jiu-Jitsu for about a year and regularly attends the Sunday class. “Jiu-Jitsu is a very male dominated sport,” Giniger said. “Most martial arts are for whatever reason, and that can be really intimidating. Especially with something like Jiu-Jitsu, which is so grappling focused.”
Simply getting started on the mat can be a huge obstacle for some. “That can be scary. [It] can be very difficult to just throw yourself into the situation where you’re getting choked out by a dude that you met 20 minutes ago” Giniger said.
Because of the physical and close nature of Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts, gyms are not always a comfortable space for women. Even Perez began her Jiu-Jitsu journey by joining a women's only group before she joined a co-ed class.
“I just felt weird working with men in what I thought would be such an intimate setting, but it is really not at all,” Perez said. “It was not until I fully understood Jiu-Jitsu as fully combative and just learning how to move around other people, did I fully join a co-ed class," she added. Some women experience a sense of vulnerability and concern with the close nature of Jiu-Jitsu. Inappropriate thoughts are meant to be the farthest thing from the mat, Perez said.
Giniger said “It is really amazing to have this space where you can become introduced to and kind of acclimated with the sport and with the way that the sport works and the way that you move your body and other people are interacting with you in a space that is a lot less threatening, it really makes it a very, very empowering environment”
Allie Froman regularly attends the free women’s class. “I value my safety in a learning environment. You want to be able to trust your training partners.” Froman said. She has been doing Jiu-Jitsu for over two years before moving to Boston and joining Back to Basics. Finding a gym that was openly inclusive towards women was a priority for Froman. “It’s kind of often discussed that women in Jiu-Jitsu or martial arts is a green flag for a gym. Like if there’s no women, why is there no women?” Froman added.
Both Froman and Giniger attend classes at Back to Basics throughout the week as well. They shared how the women’s class has helped them feel more comfortable attending other classes throughout the week, as they know they will know someone there.
“Cultivating relationships in martial arts allows for safer training partners, which allows for better progression” said Froman. She believes that having a good women’s partner makes everyone more welcome and comfortable at the gym. “Everyone knows someone. Everyone has a safe training partner, and that really speaks to the heart of the gym.” said Froman.
While the women support each other throughout the class, Perez contributes to the community dynamic greatly. “Vick is an amazing coach,” said Giniger. “We love her so much. One of the things she does really well is explaining [that] we’re really trying to focus on how to make you feel strong, make you feel safe, and give you the skills you need.”
Jiu-Jitsu and the creation of the free Sunday class, Perez said “doing Jiu-Jitsu has given me a very realistic idea of what I should do if someone puts their hands on me on the street” was one of Perez's key takeaways from
Massachussets had 73,047 reported cases of assault of another person in 2023 according to Beyond 2020. No gender identity specifics were shared.
Learning Jiu-Jitsu can help women feel more empowered and comfortable to protect themselves. Perez shared that for her from taking Jiu-Jitsu was to be comfortable being touched by someone. “My first thought is not going to be to panic. I can immediately think how I can disconnect myself from this person and strategically get away,” said Perez.
There are some common misconceptions about what Jiu-Jitsu is, and what it can be used for. “Before doing jiu jitsu, I honestly thought it would make me some like a secret ninja. That I would know how to defend and beat everyone up. The reality is I just know how to respond when someone grabs me, and I can probably know enough to get up and away from people” said Perez. For self defense, these skills can be crucial and life saving.
The average number of students at the class hovers around twelve, but has been as few as three to more than twenty. Despite the quick turnover, there is always a number of women coming in or at least aware of it according to Perez.
“In a world that is so quick to define someone by a single moment, Jiu-Jitsu is all about growing and learning together and not being stuck on certain things,” said Perez.
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