WOMEN'S BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU AT ASCEND
Structured training, real skills, and a community built around you. Led by women, for women.
The biggest challenge is walking through the door.
Most women who train here said the same thing before they started. It was not the training they were worried about. It was the room. Whether they would be the only woman. Whether the environment would feel right. Whether they would look out of place.
Those concerns are completely valid. BJJ is close contact, physically demanding, and historically male-dominated. Knowing that before you walk in is not weakness. It is honesty.
The women's programme at Ascend exists because of that reality. Not to separate women from the rest of the academy, but to give every woman a clear, supported, pressure-free way in.
Meet Ellie Osborne
Purple Belt | Women's Programme Lead | 7 years BJJ | 20 years kickboxing | 12 years karate
I started martial arts when I was 13. For most of that journey, I was one of the only women in the room.
Training with men is different. You are often on the back foot physically. It can be demoralising, especially early on. But it also teaches you to adapt, to problem-solve, and to build a game that does not rely on strength.
Those experiences are exactly why I believe women's classes matter. Not because women cannot train with men — they absolutely can, and many do. But because starting in a room full of women changes everything. The environment feels different. The pressure is different. You can ask questions, make mistakes, and build confidence without feeling like you have something to prove.
When I first competed in BJJ, I had barely trained with other women. The difference on the mats was immediate. It was a lesson I learned the hard way.
I coach at Ascend because I want women to have a better start than I did. And because this place is genuinely my kind of place — the coaching is serious, the culture is right, and the ego is nowhere to be found.
— Ellie Osborne, Women's Programme Lead
Since the first visit I have felt welcomed and supported. The values align with what I am looking for, training at my own pace with what works for me. I really like the structure for the teaching where we can focus on one element for an extended time. As a woman, it was important to me to train in a space where I feel comfortable, and I do feel very safe at Ascend. From my experience, this club has a great ethos.
- Lisa Collins
What the sessions look like
Classes are structured and purposeful. Every session has a focus, a clear plan, and a coaching team that knows what it is doing. You will not turn up and be left to figure it out.
Ellie leads the women's programme with support from the wider Ascend coaching team. The standard of instruction is the same across every class at Ascend — detailed, calm, and focused on genuine understanding rather than just drilling repetitions.
Sparring is introduced gradually and only when you are ready. When it happens, partners are chosen carefully. Nobody will put you in a situation you are not prepared for.
Joining the women's class is not just turning up to train. It is joining a team. The more experienced women in the group are part of the support structure. Questions are welcome. So are concerns.
What training actually gives you
The feedback from Ascend's female members is consistent. The benefits they talk about are not just physical.
Confidence — earned through steady improvement, not empty praise. The kind that carries into the rest of your week.
Mental clarity — an hour on the mats where everything else quiets down. Work, the week, the noise. It all steps back.
Self-defence — real, practical skills taught with purpose. Not choreographed responses, but understanding of how to move and control a situation.
Community — people who show up for the same reasons you do. Women from different backgrounds, different ages, different starting points. All of them welcome.
Jiu jitsu works through technique and timing, not size and strength. That is what makes it different from almost everything else. And it is why women who start here tend to stay.
Train the way that suits you
There is no single path. You choose what works for you and adjust as you go.
Train exclusively in women's sessions for as long as you like. There is no pressure to move to mixed classes and no timeline attached to it.
Join mixed classes alongside women's sessions when you feel ready. Many women train both — the women's sessions give you space to develop techniques specifically for female-to-female training, which matters particularly if you compete.
Start in women's sessions and transition to mixed classes over time. This is the most common path. Women build confidence in a familiar environment and move across when it feels right.
None of these is the right choice. All of them are.
Sessions that fit around school hours
We run sessions during the school day so you can train after drop-off and be back for pick-up.
No childcare to arrange. No scheduling conflicts. Just an hour that belongs to you.
A lot of our female members are managing training around family commitments. The timetable is built with that in mind.
"I have never felt uncomfortable or unsupported at Ascend. The biggest challenge is not having the confidence to walk in. But once you do, you realise it is a safe and welcoming environment."
— Ascend female member
"The guys here are the best. So good with the youngsters — so much patience, kindness and respect all round. Such a great group to be a part of."
— Nina Evans, Ascend member
If you are still unsure
That is completely normal. Here is what we hear most often — and what the women who train here say in response.
"I am worried about training with men."
The women's sessions are women only. You do not have to train with men until you want to. Many women never do, and that is completely fine.
"I am worried about looking silly or getting it wrong."
Everyone in the class is learning. The environment is built around that. Getting things wrong is part of the process — the coaching team and the other women in the class know that.
"I do not have time around work and family."
Sessions run at different times including school hours. The timetable is built to fit around a full life, not the other way around. And the women in the class understand the juggle — a lot of them are doing it too.
"I am not sure I am fit enough."
Fitness develops through training. You do not need to arrive in shape. You will get there by showing up.
Ready when you are
There is no pressure and no deadline. A free trial session is the simplest way to experience the women's programme for yourself.
You will train with other women, guided by Ellie and the coaching team. No experience needed. No commitment required.
Just come in and see how it feels.