Dern might be very focussed on her MMA career at the moment but that doesn’t really negate her significance in women’s bjj. The young brazilian-american has been a black belt since the age of 20 and she’s won all over the world: NoGi Worlds, Gi Worlds, ADCC, PanAmericans, Europans and MMA.

She recently discussed her training goals, women’s bjj scene and offered sage advice to girls reluctant to put on a gi.

On trying to make her BJJ more offensive: 

I don’t do any specific training to sharpen my finishes — it’s just my way of attacking. I always feel better in a fight when I’m one step ahead of my opponent, and that’s what I try to practice every day. What I do is try not to accept positions, despite how hard my training partner might work to make me. What I do, many times, is choose an objective for the day’s session and focus only on that. For example: one day I choose to only pass guard; on another I spend the session just honing sweeps. This, I feel, helps me a lot to make me feel comfortable in any situation. Once they’re comfortable with all aspects, the athlete is naturally closer to adjusting themselves, they can control their opponent better, and the submission arises more easily, in whatever position. 

✌?️I’m loving summer in Barcelona!! I don’t want to go back! Haha good energy, sun, good company, great food – everything to recharge the mind and body and be ready to attack the next goal!! ????????______________________________________________________✌?️Adorando Barcelona no verão!! Não quero ir embora! Rs energias positivas, sol, boa companhia, comida gostosa, tudo perfeito para recarregar o corpo e a mente para o próximo desafio!???????? #cantstopwontstop #mackenziedern

A photo posted by Mackenzie Dern (@mackenziedern) on Jul 29, 2016 at 2:48pm PDT

On her take on current women’s BJJ scene:

I’m very satisfied to see more and more women at the World Championships, and the categories getting fuller — that already makes a big difference to the athletes and the audience. Besides, that forces us to fight more matches, and so we’re forced to take on a greater variety of styles. That is, we are evolving personally, and women’s BJJ is evolving alongside us. It’s very good to see women’s BJJ grow.

On what advice she’d give all girls reluctant to put on a gi:

My tip is to start out trying a few classes with girlfriends. Invite a good friend of yours and try out a class. It gets even more fun. BJJ is a lifestyle that helps with health, self-defense and self-esteem; that way, starting to practice with friends, beginners will have more reasons to stay motivated, especially on those days where we think of giving up, which happens normally. My advice is to call your girlfriends and help one another, striving to grow together in class.

You can read more of Mackenzie Dern‘s Interview with GracieMag here.