You might not know her name, but you've probably seen the
video. Riley Breedlove. She's the 16-year-old that grappled with 8 boy wrestlers
and made every single one of them tap out.
As a general rule in life, you shouldn't read comment
sections to articles. Some talk so badly of her, you'd think she's the reason
volcanoes erupt, third world nations are filled with poverty and the Cubs
haven't won a World Series in more than 100 years.
Others see it differently. She is the reason flowers bloom,
world peace is coming and women are allowed to vote. She is the greatest
feminist of all time and it should be her face on the $10 bill.
But if you talk to Riley for 2 minutes you'd realize
something. She's just a kid. A kid who is supremely talented, grounded, humble
and smart. But still....just a kid.
Well this girl beat 8 macho jerks that have kept women down
for far too long. And they needed to learn their place is not above women!
Except that's not true either. Those 8 boys? Just kids. Good kids from all
indications.
The night in was June 28, 2015. And Riley and a few of her
wrestling friends were at a fireworks show. They didn't have a battle of the
sexes. They had a battle of the sports. The wrestlers wanted to see how
wrestling would do vs. jui-jitsu. It's really as simple as that. "A few friends have always talked about rolling with me but we never
had the opportunity until that night. The boys were wrestlers who wanted to see
if wrestling would beat Jiu-Jitsu," Riley says.
One by one the wrestlers went against the
martial artist. And one by one, Riley emerged victorious. Riley's many
detractors were upset that she flaunted her victory by recording it, and
putting it online. The only problem is, that's not how it happened. Riley says,
"I had no idea it was being filmed. I didn't know until after it was all
over when people started showing me."
As many detractors as she has, Riley has
garnered many fans since the video went viral. In one of the matches, the boy
refused to tap and told his friend he would to sleep before he would tap. And
he was right. Riley knocked him out. Many women have said that was the seminal
moment of the video. But not according to Riley. She says, "My favorite
match was when one of the wrestlers went for a double leg takedown and I turned
it into a choke and then transitioned the move into a triangle. I felt like
that match showed what jui-jitsu is about."
Another thing jui-jitsu is about is
remaining humble. And despite her new found fame, there is not a bragging bone
in Riley's body. While she went undefeated, she feels her opponents won as
well. "They were all super humble. it was strictly fun. It wasn't meant to
be a competition or anything."
Another group of critics are saying Riley
shouldn't have knocked the one boy out. Riley says she had it under control the
whole time. "It would be irresponsible if I didn't consider safety being
an issue at the time. I knew he'd tap
out at some point. And if he didn't, I'd let him go. Like I did."
The boy she knocked out had two rematches
vs. Riley, and both this time, the boy tapped out both times. That made Riley happy, though she wasn't
happy for herself, she was happy for the boy. "I was glad he tapped
because that means he accepted the technique."
Despite being new to all this attention,
Riley has remained incredibly mature, and doesn't begrudge her detractors for
their opinion. She says, "I can see
where they're coming from, and I respect all opinions and perspectives. But as
a grappler I took precautions to make sure no one got hurt. Being criticized doesn't bother me. I take it
all in and learn from it. As an athlete, you're always going to have haters and
people trying to put you down. Especially if you're at the top of your game."
Though Riley is quick to point out, she's not at the top of her game. "I'm
working to hopefully get there someday," she says.
In the end Riley is just happy she can be
an inspiration. Not just to girls, but to anyone. " I've gotten a ton of
messages. People from different countries, states, and cities. It feels good to
know that you can be an inspiration to other girls and BJJ practitioners."
So where does Riley see herself in the
future? Should Ronda Rousey be worried? Maybe, but you'll never get that out of
Riley. "My ultimate goal for BJJ is just to inspire people. Let them know
that the impossible is possible regardless of gender, age etc. I want to set
the example for future generations to come."
Riley
Breedlove...The Humble Assassin. You can watch the matches here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJnyPLuHSIU&feature=youtu.be
