For many mothers in their forties, there’s a stereotype that getting involved in a new sport means donning yoga pants and striking the warrior pose.
But some women would rather be actual warriors.
To this end, two ladies in town have proven themselves to be people whom you probably wouldn’t want to encounter in a dark alleyway.
Tara McKone is one of those women.
While it’s a common trope in martial arts for an athlete to become interested in the sport after having been beaten to a pulp by a bully, McKone’s story of origin has a bit of a twist.
In her case, that bully was not a muscle-bound attacker twice her size — it was actually her four-year-old son, who, by the way, weighed about 30 pounds.
After having taken Brazilian jiu-jitsu lessons, McKone’s boy managed to put her in a rear-naked choke.
“I know,” the 42-year-old said with a laugh. “And not just four, but just-turned four.”
For McKone, it was a turning point. She vowed that she would never be bested by her son — or any other four-year-old martial artists — ever again.
The self-employed mom of four started training in February 2016, and hasn’t looked back since.
“I was not attracted to it at all, but then I said, ‘You know what, I need to defend myself against my boys,’” she said.
So far, she’s kept that promise to herself and then some.
Most recently, she’s clinched gold at the Canadian Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s B.C. provincial tournament last month.
In the white belt class, McKone came out on top in the adult female lightweight division.
But McKone is not the only mom who’s putting on a Brazilian jiu-jitsu uniform.
When Natasha Nasu, a 43-year-old mom of two, isn’t working as a clinical nursing educator at Hilltop House, she’s catching someone in an armbar.
For the four-stripe white belt, the heat of competition is one of the main draws in the sport.
Having won a bronze medal in her division at a Canadian Brazilian Jiu Jitsu event in December, memories of the victory are still fresh in her mind.
When she stepped on the mat, one of the main things that hit her was the enthusiasm in the arena.
“There’s a lot of cheering and a lot of energy,” she said. “You don’t realize how strong another girl is until you’re actually rolling with that opponent.”
“It was just that feeling of adrenaline and that rush,” Nasu added. “It was an excitement.”
Since she started training in October 2015, Nasu realized the art gave her a feeling of empowerment.
It’s even allowed her to take on women significantly younger than her, in some cases taking on 17-year-olds and people in their twenties.
Those experiences have helped her realize an old adage.
“Age is just a number,” she said.
