Student of BJJ is so proud to sponsor another amazing athlete with yet another amazing story! I want everybody to meet Sidney Pruitt, AKA “Sid Vicious”! This young lady is only 15, but has earned her nickname many times over on the mats. I asked her to tell me a little about herself for this blog, and she somehow found time to draft her inspiring story in the milliseconds of free time she has between training and studying. Share this post and help me welcome Sidney!
Hello, my name is Sidney Pruitt I am 15 years-old. I’ve been training the wonderful sport Brazilian jiu-jitsu for 10 years now. I’ve competed 17 times with 2 super fights as well and competed/taken gold in women’s blue belt divisions.
I got into Jiu Jitsu at the age of five. I had grown up watching UFC with my dad. I was going to start cheer until my dad said I could try what I saw on tv (UFC). After the first day, I fell in love and kept training. I kept Jiu Jitsu a secret from as many people as I could. I was scared to get made fun of because I was the only girl in the school doing something like that. I was even the only girl in the gym.
But, I kept training.
In 5th grade, I started to tell friends and people about BJJ. I’d wear my BJJ shirts to school and wear my competition shirts. I had a group of about 6 guys that made fun of me all through 5th grade. I was told I couldn’t do what the guys do and that succeeding in a male-dominated sport is something I couldn’t do. I was told I had too much muscle for a girl and didn’t dress like the other girls, and no matter what I couldn’t beat guys. I knew in my mind that my body was created for something different than what the other girls had in mind. I used the guy’s words as motivation. They said I couldn’t, and I told them I would…and I did. I used proving them wrong my motivation.
I started adult classes at age 11. At the age of 12, I moved to Florida from Maryland. During this move, I took 5/6 months off, and that’s the longest I’ve ever been without Jiu Jitsu. During this move, I gained 25 pounds. I had anxiety about both not meeting people, and not finding a BJJ gym. I had horrible depression. I was scared I’d never find friends or people to talk to. I would go days at a time not leaving my room and just laying there.
One day, I found motivation and remembered the goals I had set as a little girl to prove everyone that doubted me wrong. After that break, I started trying gyms out to find my forever home. About a year ago now I finally found it–Team Remedy.
I started training more, eating healthy, and doing other physical activities. I worked on my mindset and outlook on life. I realized that when I’m on the mat, all my thoughts went away and I focused on Jiu Jitsu. I no longer focused on my weight, friendships, or my struggles with anxiety and depression. I was always so scared that nobody would love me for having anxiety. After training more and having more time away from my life struggles and anxiety, the anxiety started to fade away. I noticed that the more I trained, the more I grow in Jiu Jitsu and life overall. Yes, I still suffer from anxiety and depression, but that’s part of the reason I train so much and have so much dedication. It’s my cure for my problems.
Jiu Jitsu has helped me with so much. It helps me on a daily basis with confidence, anxiety, and depression. It truly is a cure for all things. Some of the most amazing and greatest friends I have ever met have been through Jiu Jitsu. When I train, I feel like I only focus on what I’m trying to learn. When you learn to do a skill in BJJ, you have to believe that you can do it, and you have to work with the body that you have in order to do it. Do you want to do an armbar? You must find a way to make your body do it. You use what you have in order to succeed. When you use that confidence in life, it changes everything.
No matter what you have, keep fighting and you’ll find a way.
I’m grateful to have Student of BJJ by my side and along the way! Along with being a sponsored athlete, I have goals of competing in Worlds, Pans, super fights, and eventually being a black belt and running my own gym.
I’m thrilled to have Sidney in the Student of BJJ family! As you can see, she is a very driven young woman that lives for Jiu Jitsu! Something she didn’t mention in her post is that she is homeschooled so that she can train whenever and for however long she needs to in order to accomplish her goals. With that kind of dedication and support from her family, she is destined for great things!
She joins the Student of BJJ family beside our other sponsored athlete Xavier, who has also used BJJ as a therapy and guiding light. If you want to know how BJJ has helped shape me personally, read my post Here. It’s a little long but I promise it’s worth the read!