BELLINGHAM, Wash. — At Bellingham Brazilian jiu-jitsu, para-athlete Jess Munter is used to having opponents trying to hold her down and breathing down on her neck.
"Jiu-jitsu is such an intimate sport," Munter said. "You're like right on top of each other. This is controlled violence, you know?"
Imagine being the only woman in a martial arts class.
Now imagine grappling on the mat with one arm tied down in front.
"Everyone else is saying 'Oh be careful with your arm. You're going to hurt yourself. Are you sure you want to do this? You might hurt yourself' and I'm just like 'No I'm doing this'," said Munter. "I just tuck my arm away to protect it."
Despite nerve damage at birth that weakened her left arm and made it susceptible to further injury, Munter has been training and competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since high school.
"I was a really angry teenager. Oh my goodness!" Munter laughed.
Through mentors like Jeff Shaw, Munter learned to channel that anger into determination.
"If you can fight while crying, you can do anything," Munter said.
Munter often beats able-bodied competitors and twice she has won world championships in the para jiu-jitsu division.
" I still think about it," Munter said. " I get goosebumps and I feel that adrenaline rush!"
"I'm really proud of Jess for 1 million reasons and most of them have nothing to do with jiu-jitsu," Shaw said. "When she sets a goal it's really, really difficult to stop her from achieving it."
But a pair of recent knee injuries may finally push Munter onto another rewarding path.
"I started dancing," Munter said with a big grin. "And it's just flooded my entire existence for the past eight months. I've been doing it non-stop. I no longer carry a lot of the anger that I had and I have a new joy for life."
Shaw added, "No matter what career she chooses, no matter what athletic pursuit she chooses, I know she's going to be successful, and I am going to be smiling every step of the way watching her."
Munter credits the people she calls a second family for helping her find her happy place.
"Family means someone who's going to encourage you no matter what," Munter said.
Even a champion knows she's stronger with a team.
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