The 136 lbs (62 kg) competitor, who stands just five foot four and a half, pushed back against the popular notion that women should enter jiu-jitsu primarily for self-defense purposes.
“I don’t like the narrative that women should start as a form of self-defense,” Davies stated. “If someone’s trying to attack me, I’m just gonna try and run away. I’m not trying to scrap anyone.”
She clarified that framing the sport around fear perpetuates an unhealthy mindset, explaining she doesn’t want women entering jiu-jitsu because they’re
“scared of men.”
Davies also dismissed critics who question the effectiveness of her techniques.
“People like to go on comment on my videos and be like that wouldn’t work in the street.”
“I’m like, I know,”
” I’m doing a fun sport where we lay on the floor.”
The Welsh grappler didn’t hold back when addressing pay inequality in jiu-jitsu competitions either. She revealed that before her withdrawal from ADCC alongside Mackenzie Dern, female winners received only five thousand dollars compared to ten thousand for men, despite equal viewer interest.
“I’ve talked to the guys of Polaris, and they’ve told me that not just myself, but other women are one of the highest viewed matches on Polaris,”
she explained, challenging the narrative that women don’t draw audiences in Polaris events.
Davies took aim at the training culture, criticizing gyms that allow beginners to get repeatedly overwhelmed without proper guidance. She called out the mentality where
“you’ve got to come in and get beaten up and then just if you don’t like it, then you’re just not tough enough,”
arguing this approach drives away potential practitioners.
When discussing her judo background, Davies admitted to having an unnecessarily aggressive approach early in her career.
“In judo, if you get a submission, you hold it on until the referee stops you,”
she explained, describing how she had to be told to
“calm down”
when transitioning to jiu-jitsu’s more relaxed tap-and-release culture.
The champion also touched on uncomfortable realities of training, including multiple incidents at her current gym involving male practitioners whose shorts failed to contain their anatomy.
“We’ve had ballgate,”
she revealed, explaining the gym had to post announcements about appropriate attire after several exposures.
Davies expressed frustration with seminar attendees who treat training sessions like competitions rather than learning opportunities. She specifically called out purple belt men who
“come at me with like they stare at me”
during seminars, attempting to prove themselves rather than absorb techniques.
Davies maintained her position that jiu-jitsu should be presented to women the same way it’s presented to men, as an enjoyable sport first rather than through fear-based marketing.
“I would like it to be more that’s the narrative as opposed to like, oh, you know, you don’t like it r**ed, right? You better get in here “
Her candid approach extended to admitting the emptiness that follows major victories. After winning both ADCC and World Championships in 2021, she described experiencing
“gold medal depression”
where achieving her ultimate goal left her wondering
“what now?”
