#thisgirlscan

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@ewakalisiewicz looking down to Clifton beach, Cape Town, standing at the base of her first multipitch climb. 🏔 Thank you @tim_howell_advntr for sharing 👍👊

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POLICE OFFICER GINA GETS A MOOOOOOVE ON! ZOOM! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Our gal pal Gina tells us what moves her and fills us in on her 200 mile charity challenge!!! YEP, TWO HUNDRED MILES 🙈 TGC: What sport/s do you do and how long have you been doing it/them? I run predominantly, although I enjoy cycling as well. I’ve been running off and on since my school days. At school I hated football and most of the other sports that we had to do, but I could run, and eventually the teachers realised and during football lessons, rather than putting me in goal, only to watch me let lots of goals in, they allowed me to run around the school field for the lesson, which left me to think about things. When I was a Police officer in London, we formed a cycle patrol team, and it was a brilliant job; we were getting fit whilst fighting crime. I undertook the London to Brighton cycle ride several times, as well as the London to Southend Bike ride, and I really enjoyed them. Probably because I was at my fittest, so I could enjoy the experience, soak up the atmosphere and not just have to focus on my cycling. In 1996 I did the London Marathon, another great experience, I cried with emotion at the finish line, it had been a really hot day, and I saw a few people being carried off the route, during the last two miles or so, and I was determined that wasn’t going to be me. TGC: What specifically do you like about the sport? I like running, because I can switch on to auto-pilot, I am blessed that I do not get out of breath, so can run at a decent pace, listen to my music, take in beautiful scenery, and if I’ve got no aches, pains or injuries can run some good distances. Of course it also allows me to think about things, and at the beginning of my transition, I had lots of things to think about. Going for a run often helped me to get clarity on a situation and come up with some good strategies on how to resolve a problem. TGC: Are you a member of a club or group and how have you found participating with others as a trans woman? I’m not a member of a club, but I have run with other Police Colleagues, male and female, who’ve treated me no differently. So I’ve not found that I have been disadvantaged through being trans, in fact, being at a good level of fitness I often found I was the designated pace-setter. TGC: Have you found any barriers to doing sport? I had a good running pace before transitioning, about 8.44 miles, which as a 50 something I thought was pretty good pace, When I started taking testosterone blockers, and HRT, I noticed I was slowly putting on weight and my pace slowing, the worst being 10.44 miles, and this was an awful experience, an unexpected, unwanted part of my transitioning. I couldn’t run the distances I used to, which was really frustrating. I thought it might be something to do with blocking testosterone, and therefore transitioning was going to be a barrier to running. But I was wrong. I started looking at other transpeople, who were involved in sport, and realised that perhaps I need to look at what the actual barrier was. It really played on my mind, and I had to have an honest hard look at my life-style and diet. So I changed my attitude, I considerably curtailed drinking alcohol, maybe down to just one glass of wine a month, changed my diet, and actually increased my running. I decided to get involved with Run 2 Remember a charity set up by Bryn Hughes the father of PC Nichola Hughes , who was with PC Fiona Bone, when they were killed whilst on duty. This approach, removed any mental barriers that I had in place, I became more focused, I had a target to achieve and gradually my run times improved. My weight has dropped by two stone since Christmas, and my run time is at about 9.10 mile average, and I’m back to running some good distances. So to be honest, my initial attitude was the only barrier to the running!! TGC: What, if any, impact does being active have on your life as a trans person? No negative impact whatsoever, it helps me think about things, and the natural endorphins that kick in after a run, help me improve my well-being. Also exercise is a great stress relief, and whilst I find transitioning joyous, I get time to think about things that happen through my job as a Police officer, and they are often quickly addressed simply by undertaking exercise. TGC: What advice would you give to a trans person thinking of becoming active, who may be nervous? Embrace your fears, if it’s the fear of being identified as trans. Sometimes I go out without any make-up on (okay maybe some lipstick) and if I ever had any fears that people would identify me as a transperson as I am out running, they are soon put to bed. Why? I’ve learnt as a Police officer that most people are caught up in their only world to worry what others are doing. And if I’m running, most people are walking so don’t have time to look at me, and wonder if I am trans or not. Of course their might be some people who are just nervous about going out on their own, so my advice would be to undertake exercise with other people, friends or family, and just take some time to think about what you want to do. Do it in bite size chunks as well, don’t set unrealistic targets, gradually increase your fitness. With social media, it also presents a good way of networking with other like-minded people, who might want to also get fit. So you’ll soon realise you won’t be on your own, just take that leap of faith. TGC: Do you have a sporting inspiration and if so, who is it and why? Dame Kelly Holmes, I admire her tenacity, and attitude to undertaking different sporting challenges. When she was on, “Bear Grylls- Mission survive”, her “no fear” approach, embracing things that made her feel uncomfortable, was inspirational. I really like that. Plus I’ve met her and she is a really nice person. TGC: Whats your next sporting challenge? Well I’ve nearly finished my run to remember challenge; I’ve already completed 185 miles of the 200 mile target. I intend to do some of the miles in Manchester itself at the end of May as I feel it’s appropriate to pay homage to fallen colleagues in the City it happened. But I don’t intend to stop there, I’ve got the Southend Half Marathon in June, then a couple of days after that I’m hoping to join my friend as he undertakes a 66 mile cycle challenge, cycling from Peterborough to Bletchley. The main thing is that physically/mentally I am in a good place, and I intend to keep focused by undertaking different challenges throughout the coming year. Transitioning is sometimes challenging, but I think it’s less difficult when your physical well-being is at its best. Gina, you ROCK! Thanks for sharing, you’ve inspired us!!

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HI-YAAAH!! New Girl In Town Kicks Ass!

TransGirlsCan caught up with Chloe in Liverpool, UK for an interview about her her new found love of martial arts. Chloe took up the sport after moving across the country for work! Hows that for taking the plunge, awesome!

TGC: What is your Sport?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ).

TGC: When and why did you start it?

I started training back in November (2015) for a number of reasons. I was finding it difficult to go to the gym, as I'm very conscious of my body, and the thought of using the changing rooms always put me off. This also meant I couldn't travel by train to the gym, which is my primary mode of transport around Liverpool, as I would have to leave and return in my gym gear, which isn't a good look on me at the best of times...

In addition to this, I've always been a big martial arts fan. I was raised on Jean Claude Van-Damme, Donnie Yen, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan so I've ALWAYS wanted to get involved in a martial art, but as I’ve never really considered myself a violent person, I've never had a reason to start.

When I joined MMA Liverpool, I initially went to their two women's foundation classes, one being BJJ and the other Thai Boxing, however after a few weeks of doing both, I found myself more drawn towards BJJ. As I said previously, I’m not a violent person, and the thought of punching and kicking someone makes me feel a bit uneasy, whereas BJJ is all about control, which is something I found fascinating straight away, and still find now. As I'd had little to no exposure to BJJ prior to my first class, I think I spent about 3 hours after that first session just watching YouTube videos of competitions and tutorials and pretty much fell in love with the sport over the course of that evening.

Finally, and probably the most motivating reason for joining, a couple of months prior to moving up to Liverpool from Southampton, I was assaulted on the street as I was leaving the cinema late one evening. Anyone who's ever met me would attest to the fact that I don't really do dressing particularly provocatively, so you can imagine my surprise when I was pushed against a wall by two 'gentlemen' who, had they not found out I was trans in quite possibly the most awkward way possible, would have ended up sexually assaulting me. Instead I just had the back of my head rammed into the wall against which I was pressed, and took a few blows to the stomach and ribs when I hit the floor before they were chased off by a passer-by who helped me up and offered to call the police.

Since then, I’d had a great deal of my confidence stolen and became extremely anxious about being on my own at night. I really wanted to get that confidence back, and BJJ offered that to me.

TGC: You're in a new city, doing a new sport, did being trans have an impact on the choice of sport, group etc?

So I moved to Liverpool at the end of September last year, after separating from my partner of 5 years, to pretty much start again. I told myself when I moved that I would seize every opportunity afforded to me, as I knew that if I was left to my own devices, I would have just spent every evening and weekend at home on my own. And I've been supremely fortunate to have a friend such as Sophie Green, who has seemingly made it her mission to ensure that I'm not spending extended periods of time on my own and doing nothing.

To be honest, it was only by coincidence that I happened across MMA Liverpool, as they're located opposite CostCo. So one afternoon, on the way back from sorting out my membership, I saw their banner on the side of the building. I remember looking at it and thinking, "oooh, interesting."

Their website, www.mmaliverpool.com, was very informative, and I saw that they provided classes specifically aimed at women, so I sent them an email to enquire. In that email I basically said that I’m a trans woman and I’m interested in joining their women’s classes, I asked whether or not my trans status would cause any issues with me attending the women's classes, as I didn't want to presume.

Their response made no mention of my being trans, only that their classes were open to all women, and that I should attend an induction class with one of the trainers to see if it was for me. So that’s what I did, and the rest is pretty much history really.

If I’m completely honest, even though MMA is a male dominated sport, it never crossed my mind that it’s not something I should do, as all I saw was a sport that looked interesting, would improve my fitness and help me with some issues I’d developed. My being trans only became an issue for me when I was considering joining women only classes, as like a lot of other trans women, I don’t feel that I blend too well with the wider female population, and thought this would cause issues. Everything else around that was pretty much inconsequential, and to be honest, I couldn’t be happier that I went for it.

TGC: How have you found other people in your group?

Honestly, apart from my first lesson where I was REALLY nervous (which was my own issue, no one else’s), the environment has been nothing but welcoming.

The staff are really friendly, open, and extremely helpful. The other girls and guys I train with are also pretty awesome. I’ve always been treated as female, with the girls I train with going all out when we spar and practice, and the guys often being apologetic for being so rough, which is pandering, but a lovely thought at the same time…and also not a gratuity I afford them when it’s my turn to perform the techniques.

Overall though, everyone who attends the gym is like family. BJJ is one of those awkward sports where some of the positions are quite…intimate, but with everyone being there for the same reason, the embarrassment of those situations is short lived in your BJJ tenure, as it becomes obvious that every position is designed to have an impact on the situation.

So whilst I spend a lot of time on my back with my legs wrapped around the waist of a guy or girl, any awkwardness is short lived as the position is usually moved to a submission pretty quickly.

TGC: What advice would you give to other Trans Women thinking about starting exercise, particularly joining local clubs?

The best advice I can give is just to go for it. If you’re apprehensive about single gender spaces, or whether or not you’d be welcome in the class you wish to attend, pose your questions to those in charge before joining and attend a taster session.

I’d say that nine times out of ten you’ll find that people with the same interests and goals as yourself wouldn’t care if you were male, female, Black, White, Asian; you could be a Martian for all they care, as it’s your interests that bond you.

So, to quote a famous sports brand, Just Do It! Follow your passion and achieve your goals.

TGC: What does exercise give you?

For the most part, it’s about keeping fit. I try to think of it as, when the Zombie Apocalypse finally comes, will I be in a good enough physical shape to survive, rather than being one of the “fodder people” used as bait whilst the important people get to safety.

Since starting BJJ, I’ve boosted my endurance, toned my arms and stomach (a little), and increased the strength in my legs a great deal, as most of the work comes from the hips and thighs.

So yeah, what does exercise give me? Peace of mind from a Zombie Apocalypse, and the confidence to walk at night without freaking out every time someone comes close to me.

TGC: Thanks Chloe, its been emotional!