Kyra Gracie is one of the most successful and famous female Jiu-Jitsu competitors of all time, but she recently revealed that even she has experienced harassment in the sport. Her statement comes in the wake of a range of allegations against major figures in the Jiu-Jitsu world, starting with ATOS founder Andre Galvao. It didn’t stop there though; another woman came forward with allegations against Checkmat co-founder Ricardo Vieira. These scandals have rocked the Jiu-Jitsu world, not just because of the alleged perpetrators’ positions but also because the sport has long been used by women as a way of learning to defend themselves against attackers.
In the video that Kyra Gracie shared, she started out by explaining a particular incident of harassment that she experienced when she was teenager:
“Imagine you naked inside my Keiko kimono.” An older man saying that to a girl. And that girl was me, 18 or 19 years old . He came saying he wanted to sponsor me, and I froze. When he was at events, I hid. He was wrong, and I kept quiet. I kept this to myself until now because the environment silences women.”
Gracie is not alone of course, plenty of women don’t come forward publicly or to the police when they experience harassment, or worse. A large part of that is down to the culture that surrounds making allegations like this, but also the positions of power that many of the perpetrators are in. As Gracie explains, women are often criticised for reporting things like this after the fact too:
“I know I’ll be criticized for only speaking now, but silence only protects the aggressors. And every day more reports of harassment against teachers and renowned names in the fighting world are emerging.”
Kyra Gracie spoke out about the harassment she experienced in Jiu-Jitsu in a recent video posted to her official YouTube channel:
