In bjj it’s quite common to hear practitioners to say BJJ saved my life. But when it comes to public figures and judo it’s perhaps a little less prominent.
Kayla Harrison has come forward to admit that she was left in despair after being sexually abused by her first coach. She tells CNN:
When I was 16, having just moved to Boston to train with the Olympic coaches Jimmy Pedro and his father, I’d also just revealed to my mom that my first coach had sexually abused me. It was a tumultuous time.Everyday I thought about quitting the sport.I thought about running away, of being a Barista in New York where no-one would know me or look at me.
I struggled with thoughts of suicide for years, during the abuse and after the abuse, but having a goal — the dream of being an Olympic champion — and strong people around helped in my darkest hour.
The first American judoka to have won a gold medal overcame a harrowing journey thanks to judo:
When I was first in Boston living with the judo team, I didn’t want to lift weights, I didn’t want to go to school, or go to therapy, but I had no choice. If I wanted to be in the judo house I had to follow the rules.There were days when my teammates would drag me out of bed and drive me to school and they would watch me walk through the school doors.Jimmy, the coach, didn’t usually take kids who were under 18, but these were special circumstances. My mom had nowhere else to go and I’m really thankful he said OK. A lot of people wouldn’t have considered having a 16-year-old car wreck.
Harrison also revealed that her competitive success didn’t come out of the blue:
I didn’t win a tournament during my first three years of doing judo — I didn’t even win a match — but I was really determined.
Harrison is still unclear about MMA though:
I go back and forth on whether I’m going to compete in MMA because it’s so different to judo.The first thing you do on a judo mat is bow to your opponent, the first thing you do in MMA is trash talk your opponent.The Professional Fighters’ League is trying to change that, and I’m interested. They want to give their fighters a monthly salary and health benefits, and even in the fighters’ contracts it says the must not swear. That’s a much more feasible fit for someone like me.
