Women first competed in the World Jiu-Jitsu championship in 1998.

First they all competed in the same division, without any separation of belts.

In 2007, the first open class division took place and Michelle Nicolini grabbed the gold medal.

Only in 2012, black belt women had a division exclusive to them, without the presence of brown belts.

In 2014, the IBJJF inducted its first ever Hall of Fame class and six ladies received the highest honor in Jiu-Jitsu: Gabrielle Garcia, Kyra Gracie, Michelle Nicolini, Bianca Andrade, Leticia Ribeiro and Hannette Staack.

The IBJJF prepared a video to honor them and now you remember that.

Don’t forget to register for the 20th edition of the Worlds, next May 27-31, in Long Beach, California.

Click here to register.

Phenomenal Women in BJJ

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.

Around the globe, women celebrate their struggle for equal rights, against violence and sexism.

In a world still widely dominated by men, being a woman still means to face a lot of challenges.

In Jiu-Jitsu, as in life, women have to fight for their space every day.

GracieMag reconizes that incredible effort and wants to celebrate their courage and will power to keep on going.

The video below unites some great images of women in Jiu-Jitsu with the inspiring words of poem Phenomenal Woman, by poet Maya Angelou, regarded as one of the most important feminist works of all time.