Adjani
purple belt
My life has been zero to sixty—basketball, softball, sprint triathlons, CrossFit, then jiu-jitsu, and even a half-marathon. It’s been sporadic, but jiu-jitsu is the one thing I haven’t been able to let go of.
Q: What brought you here?
I was a reality television producer for 15 years. When I was working for Good Day L.A., MMA was just starting to get big, and I interviewed a couple of fighters. So I knew a little bit about it. Mind you, this was after college, so I didn’t know anything about jiu-jitsu. That was the extent of my knowledge.
I moved from California to New York in 2013 to be closer to my younger brother, who already lived here. In reality television, you have a job, and then you don’t have a job. So when I didn’t have work, I’d come visit him, then go back to California to hunt for more work. Eventually, I found a job on The Rachael Ray Show, and so I was able to move here. My younger brother moved back to California and now has two beautiful kids, both of whom are in jiu-jitsu.
I was doing CrossFit at the time. I hurt my foot—nothing to do with CrossFit—but my older brother does jiu-jitsu. I didn’t even know he was doing it because he lives in San Diego. He was like, “Forget CrossFit. Do jiu-jitsu.”
By that point, I had changed careers — I now work in corporate tax. So I was asking people at my company if they’d done jiu-jitsu, and they said, “You should try Renzo Gracie.”
When I was figuring out what made sense between my job and an academy, this one had just opened. I was living on the Upper West Side, walking around during one of those street art fairs, and Luca and Gabriel were out on the street talking about the new Renzo Gracie Upper West Side. They offered a free trial. I said, “Okay.”
I had a one-on-one with Professor Luca. At the time, I didn’t realize how significant that was. But I had that one-on-one, and I was hooked. There was no going back.
Q: What hooked you about it? You probably already moved pretty well from CrossFit.
Yeah, CrossFit is no joke. What got me into CrossFit was the non-mundane aspect, because I get bored easily. In jiu-jitsu, you’re never bored. It’s the endless endeavor. It felt like the next level beyond CrossFit. After a while in CrossFit, you know the workouts. It can get repetitive. It’s still hard, which I loved, but jiu-jitsu was mental and physical at the same time. It was a challenge I couldn’t let go of.
Professor Luca gave me insight into body awareness that I didn’t have before. He explained the basics, especially the self-defense aspect. He asked me what I wanted out of it. I think he had a vision of what he wanted to build here, balancing self-defense and sport. I did both. But the way he explained movement, the philosophy behind it, that’s what hooked me. He was genuinely interested in what I wanted. And the stories he would tell, wow.
It was intimidating because there were hardly any women when I first started. Now it’s grown. My younger brother asked why I travel so far to train, now that I live in Queens. He doesn’t understand the community we have here. Once you’re here, it’s family.
Q: Tell us about your first year of training.
I started in 2019 when I was 43. I wish I had started earlier. When I first started, I had to mentally prepare myself every time I stepped on the mat. It was so intimidating. The other white belts were mostly men. I thought I was going to die every class. My older brother said, “You’re the nail now. Soon you’ll be the hammer. Just keep rolling and don’t worry about the color of your belt. Just keep rolling.” I said okay, but to this day, I never told him I had no clue what he meant by rolling. I thought he meant doing forward rolls.
I trained twice a week at first, still doing CrossFit. Then Covid happened. I had only been training for about nine months when the gym shut down. I joined the Zoom classes. I thought if I kept watching, it would stick. When we came back, it didn’t magically stick, but it helped.
Now it’s my safe place. No cell phones. You can’t think about work. You have to focus on the person in front of you, on how they’re moving, how you’re breathing. The learning came in steps. At first, I needed very specific instructions: right hand here, left hand there. Eventually, I started understanding feeling and timing.
I was incredibly inflexible. Gymnastica Natural changed that for me. I couldn’t even sit on my knees before. Eventually, I could do triangles properly.
Q: Those are the midday flow classes?
Yes. I just kept coming to those Gymnastica Natural classes no matter what. They helped me so much with my flexibility.
I’ve had many injuries, but none jiu-jitsu related. One was when I slipped on ice on a Citi Bike. Hamstring partially torn. Ended up with neck issues where I couldn’t even lift my arm. There were nights I cried because I couldn’t sleep from the pain. It took about a year or so to recover fully. But I came back.
I kept up my routine of attending the morning classes and doing my physical therapy because I didn’t want to lose it. And sooner or later, I was training again. I feel like I haven’t been at 100% since. Then again, I’m going to turn 50, and these things take time.
Q: Who are your favorite training partners?
I have too many to list. I work with Klarissa on techniques. And all the morning guys. I don’t want to name names because I don’t want to leave anyone out. But I love the morning crew.
There is a bigger women’s community in the evenings that I’m missing out on. But I would not trade my morning people for anything.
Q: What brought you to teaching the kids? I tell people it’s God’s work.
I love teaching the kids. I started helping about three years ago, but I didn’t know how to get involved. Then there was a former coach who said, “Just ask.” So I asked Daniel: “Hey, if you need help on the weekends, I’m available.” And they said they could use me.
When you see kids come in, the transformation is real. Body awareness. Not fearing sparring. Making friends. It’s well-rounded development. I remember there was one boy who struggled with the transition from the little kids’ class to the next level, even with his siblings there. It took time. But now he’s thriving. Everyone has their own timeline. You see shy kids walking the sidelines, and the coaches gently bring them in. They realize it’s not that scary. When you see them grow, it’s eye-opening. It’s fulfilling.
When I see little girls come in and just go at it, loving it… I get something deep from that. It almost feels selfish. Helping teach awareness, confidence, and resilience. Even some kids who come in as bullies eventually shift. That transformation is incredible.
And honestly, you learn a lot from the kids. I didn’t realize that at first. Teaching brings you back to the bones of the sport. I think about Kobe Bryant going early to practice and shooting free throws, going back to fundamentals. Before the kids’ class, I didn’t fully appreciate how much the details matter. In jiu-jitsu, details are everything. One slight shift makes a huge difference.
Q: Where is your name from?
My mom is very creative. My name comes from a French actress named Isabelle Adjani. She had a hard time deciding between Isabella and Adjani. I don’t know if they flipped a coin, but she went with Adjani.
I saw Isabelle Adjani in Diabolique, which is a French-language film. I haven’t really explored much of her work, but she is beautiful. Her father is Algerian. That’s where my name comes from.
Q: Any last thoughts? I know we need to get to class.
I have a lot of thoughts, and at times they’re all over the place! Haha. My life hasn’t been straightforward — it’s full of curves and obstacles. But one thing I have to say is that jiu-jitsu has changed me and made me a more confident person. It’s an ongoing puzzle that I’m constantly trying to figure out. I’m so grateful for my older brother pushing me to get into jiu-jitsu.
This interview is part of the Murder Yoga Cantina series, which explores the people who make up jiu-jitsu culture.
