He got beat by a girl!!

Thawap!! Julie through caio to the mat with a perfect double leg. Julie is an 8 year old who has been with me about 3 months Caio is a 10 year old with maybe two weeks experience. He is bigger and stronger than Julie but he lacks the concentration and dedication Julie has displayed since day one. As this was a takedown drill the match was over Julie had won and Caio had lost.
"he got beat by a girl!!!" cried little Felipe, my 5 year old jiu jitsu student. I was quickly forced to respond. "Sha, we never ever say that" ( ok it's time to reset, I shouldn't teach children, I yell too much and I annoy too easily. Why am i surrounded by kids? I'm not a good influence. Time to regain my Composure and save the day before I get yelled at for yelling at the kids again) "ok guys sit down we need to have a quick discussion.
"Look Felipe its wrong to make another student feel bad because he got beat by a girl. Not because Ciao lost but because it takes away from Julie's victory and her hard work. Guys I'll tell you something, when I was younger I wrestled in the same club as a girl named Kristie Marano, she's a two time world champion and an Olympian and she used to beat the tar out of the boys. Ive been triangled by Hillary Williams and I learned a lot from a seminar i took from her. Girls can be as accomplished grapplers as guys. Never underestimate your opponent boy or girl ok? They all shook their heads but I fear my little life lesson went over about as well as the time I tried to get them to count in Russian.
I wont lie I like to teach girls grappling more than boys. The girls tend to listen better, try harder and are in general more technical. They also cry less which is something I appreciate. But the truth is teaching girls to grapple is frustrating. In this male dominated sport the results of the match are often viewed as "You got beat by a Girl" or "You beat a girl" The female competitor is always marginalized by her gender unless she is fighting another girl, and Fighting another girl isn't always an option. Maybe one in eight of my kids is a girl and as they get old that ratio will become closer to probably one in ten or so. A female grappler who only grapples other girls is going to find it harder and harder to find training partners let alone competition. This by no means means that females cant hold their own as grapplers. Kristie Marano/Davis, Hillary Williams, Kyra Gracie, Gabi Garcia and many other fine grapplers can hold their own against their male contemporaries. It is my hope that the girls I teach all 6 of them will one day be mentioned in the same breath as these fine ladies. In the mean time I'll just be happy if they stick it out and make it to practice the next day.