In the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community there are a lot of online videos floating around. From, “BJJ vs Kung Fu!” to cooler instructional videos like Jason Scully’s, “39 Arm Locks in Less Than 4 Minutes.” However, one that recently went viral was this beat down between a girl and a bunch of of dudes in the grass! My BJJ co-workers and training partners were talking about it so I was curious to learn more. Turns out I had some mutual connections with the girl in the video, Riley, and I was able to ask her some questions:

What is the background of the video? Is that something that normally happens?

I was at a firework show when the video happened. A wrestler from my school who had previously seen my competition videos came up to me and started talking to me about them. He had always wanted to roll but we never had the chance. So, I told him we would! Once everyone else saw him they also wanted to try rolling against me as well.

What is your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Background?

I have been training and competing in Jiu-Jitsu for about nine years. I started pretty young! I originally started BJJ because my brother. He was being bullied on the football field and my parents thought that it would help him with the bullying as well as help his athleticism. I actually had no intention of starting BJJ until my brother’s instructor saw me sitting out and pulled me on the mats to drill with him.

Do you think BJJ is something every girl should get into?

I think every girl should train. It helps with confidence, self-defense, and there are a lot of benefits as well. All kids and women should try BJJ.

What are your future aspirations?

In the future I want to compete at a high level and maybe even open up my own gym. I’d love to be able to teach the art that changed my life in hopes to make a difference in others.

After talking with Riley it became apparent to me why she slayed the guys in the video. Keep an eye out for this rising BJJ star and follow her fan page here!