Danielle Kelly is a fan-favorite in the BJJ world, as well as one of its most successful competitors.
However, at one point in time – during great hardships – Kelly considered quitting Jiu-Jitsu altogether.
Kelly shared her story in an interview with ONE Championship:
I think I was barely 21. And, you know, at such a young age, even before then, I had sick parents. My dad was very sick.
He was the main reason, he’s my motivation. He’s the one who brought me into the sport.
He’s the sole reason, he wanted me to get involved and stay busy with Jiu-Jitsu.
Kelly lost her dad at the time she was graduating from high school. And she lost her mom soon after as well:
I was kind of with my mom at the time and I was graduating from high school. I was a new graduate and I was trying to get into college.
And you know, I lose my mom and it kind of like, all fell down to like, what am I going to do with my life kind of talk. And, yeah, I was pretty lost at a young age.
So, I felt like Jiu-Jitsu at that time was kind of holding me back in a way. I couldn’t put the focus I wanted to put on Jiu-Jitsu.So, I took almost a year off. And looking back, I wish I didn’t, because I feel like I probably would have accomplished more.
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