grapplingstars.com, femcompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, pexels.com Cedric-Lim-Ah-Tock.
We all face the same final destination.
How we get there and what happens during the journey before, inches closer to life maximization if we accept that rather than trying to keep things the same, we must initiate continual life transitions.
Forced transitions are far more undesirable.
One of the most difficult aspects of making transitions at work or in life is letting go of who you once were and what once made you attracting, youthful and successful.
The Swedish BJJ Grappler Janni Larsson knows a thing or two about being beautiful, attracting, youthful and successful.
Yet, like all of us if we are wise, she knew when it was time to make an important life transition.
The respected industry site bjjheroes.com lays a nice foundation for us. “Janni Larsson is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the illustrious instructor Shimon Mochizuki of the Arte Suave Academy (Checkmat affiliate) in Copenhagen, Denmark. A native of Sweden, Larsson is one of the most accomplished European black belts, and the first Swedish black belt world champion (2014), having also been honored by the Swedish Martial Arts Federation with the ‘Swedish Martial Artist Role Model of the Year’ award (2014).”
Ms. Larson was born in Kristinehamn, Sweden.
She lived there until she was around 14 years of age, when she moved to Jönköping. It was there that she began her martial arts training and began to travel the road to greatness.
Soon it would be time for another transition.
“A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you’re in and take advantage of it.”…… Nikki Giovanni
Janni moved to Denmark as a purple belt early in 2010, with the intent of studying medicine at the University of Copenhagen. On arrival Larsson continued her Jiu Jitsu training under Shimon Mochizuki at the Arte Suave gym. After a year of training different styles, she realized that in order to succeed at BJJ she needed to make a transition and become more specialized.
She left her other activities behind and began to focus on Jiu Jitsu.
Her determination, sacrifices and transition wisdom paid off.
In of 2011 Janni achieved her first international gold medal at the European purple/ brown/ black trials for the World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship.
Here are some of her many titles.
- World Champion (2014 black, 2013 brown weight & absolute, 2012 purple weight & absolute)
- World Pro Jiu Jitsu Champion (2014)
- Pan American Champion (2013 brown)
- European Champion (2013 brown absolute, 2012 purple weight & absolute)
- Pan American Silver Medal (2013 brown absolute)
- European Silver Medal (2014)
Once again it was time to initiate an important life transition.
As reported by bjjscandinavia.com on April 24, 2015, “Following the Abu Dhabi Pro 2015, Janni has decided to step back from competition and dedicate herself to finishing her Medical studies. We hope Janni will compete again soon and bring back more titles to Scandinavia!”
Their report was based upon this stunning quote found at Janni’s Facebook page. “Last year I achieved everything I ever could have dreamt of in jujitsu, and there is no hunger for winning left in me.
It is with mixed feelings I am writing this because I have great love for jujitsu, but the stress from training, competing and studying to become a doctor has taken a toll on me.
I will always train jujitsu, but I am done competing at the top level. Now it is time to focus on other aspects of my life.”
Sad as it was for us as fans, it’s her life and we applaud her decision to initiate transition.
“Being a mother is the best thing that ever happened to me. Before you have your first baby you are a girl and then you become a mother. There is no transition into being a woman; you literally become a mum and being a mum means you always love someone else more than yourself and it is an unexplainable situation.”……… Brigitte Nielsen
We sense that some of what helped develop her as an exceptional decision maker was the village that raised her.
Let’s transition and visit there now.
Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with a population of 17,839 citizens in 2010.
The close knit town is situated by the shores of Lake Vänern. It has a harbor and is a railroad and road transportation center.
Nearby towns include Karlskoga and Karlstad and is located exactly in the middle of Oslo, Stockholm and Gothenburg.
It is home to one of the world’s most famous monuments.
The educational travel source visitsweden.com invites, “One of Pablo Picasso’s largest sculptures stands atop a rocky cape overlooking Vålösund (Vålö Bay) in Lake Vänern, just outside the town of Kristinehamn in the west of Sweden.
The 15 meter tall concrete sculpture is part of the artist’s ‘Les dames de Mougins’ series of paintings and sculptures themed on his wife Jacqueline.
Kristinehamn is a very attractive lakeside town with great shopping and a host of restaurants and cafés offering traditional Värmland and international fare. Look out for freshly caught Vänern pan-fried salmon, as well as elk and deer salami. High quality accommodation options in and around Kristinehamn include hotels, B&B, cottages and cabins for rent, as well as hostels and campsites.”
Sounds like a unique life experience. It also sounds like a nice quiet place away from the storm to grow up.
One of the memorable stories of transition on film, The Accidental Tourist, is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 1985 and the Ambassador Book Award for Fiction in 1986.
The novel was adapted into the 1988 award-winning film starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis, for which Davis won an Academy Award.
In the film the main character was painfully forced into a life transition until he finally made a decision to initiate the most important one.
We can appreciate Janni’s Larsson’s life resume where she continued to participate in one life transition after another, thus as she faces a new and very bright future that she initiated, we’re confident her transition to a new brilliant success will soon be realized.
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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wander-woman/201412/how-let-go-and-move
http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/janni-larsson
http://www.bjjscandinavia.com/2015/04/24/3554/
https://www.sport195.com/news_stories/janni-larsson-14263278#
http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/places/central_sweden/picasso_sculpture/
