When you look at Taylor, you're soon to have a sense of calmness and empowerment around her. She may be tiny but can probably beat you in a fight. I may have a biased view since she is one of my roommates but once you see her in action you'll feel the same way. I sat back and asked a few questions about her love for jiu-jitsu:
Q: Tell Me a little about yourself. Where are you from? What are some of your aspirations?
I was born and raised in Immokalee, FL. I'm 21 years old and a UCF majoring in health sciences pre-clinical track. My goal is to become a physician assistant or go to med school, but I'm not too sure yet. I like emergency medicine but that, of course, may change!
Q: When did you start Jiu Jitsui and what got you into it?
I started jiu-jitsu about 2 years ago. I have been doing it off and on due to moving around. I did tae kwon do when I was younger, and I wanted to get back into some time of martial arts so I tried out a kickboxing class and I loved it. They told me to try jiu-jitsu so I did and fell in love with it too.
Q: What can you tell other people that might want to get into the jiu-jitsu world?
It's so addicting. You meet awesome people of all different ages and backgrounds. It may be awkward at first and sometimes you feel silly, but you just have to keep at it.
Q: Who are some martial arts/boxing/jiu-jitsu people you admire in the field?
I admire my coaches back in my hometown. They are Mike and Gus D'Angelo. Seeing them pursue their own professional mixed martial arts careers is inspiring and I feel they really taught me to be tough. They never took it easy on me because I'm small or a female.
Q: Since the jiu-jitsu world seems to be slightly male-dominated, does it give you more motivation to work harder?
Yeah, kinda. People do not usually expect that I like to fight, and I think they don't take me seriously until they see me do it. But for the most part, I work hard for myself. I love doing it, so I automatically want to work hard. It is still intimidating at times stepping into a room full of males especially at a new gym but once I get going all those thoughts go away and I feel in place. I'm not there for anybody else.
Q: What are your goals in 2018 for your jiu-jitsu?
I absolutely want to compete for more. I've done a few jiu-jitsu tournaments. I also want to be more consistent with training now that I'm not moving around anymore. I'd like to have a mixed martial art fight one day.
Catch more pictures and videos of her jiu-jitsu on her Insta: taylorclarke08
