Mma has let me live the life I want to live. Feeling like I'm not a girl, I'm just a person trying to be good at something .

Well said! This is so true when it comes to a good training environment: sure, your partners might adjust the strength they use to match your smaller size, but one never feels treated "like a girl" or gets a free pass over being female. You are being pushed as hard as everyone else in the room.

It's true that if one looks at social media and blogs one can find thousands of female MMA and BJJ practitioners, but they are spread out thinly over the countless gyms existing in the world. I've been told that my gym has an unusually high number of women training BJJ, but even then in an average class you only have 5 or 6 (out of 20-25 attendees).

Great post, keep them coming!