Page A3
lanuary 14, 2009
L ocal W om an h as G usto to C om pete
As one of a select few
to step into the ring
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
O n an e v e n in g in a gy m in
e a st P o rtla n d , Jo d y D eS im o n e
is n e rv o u s. In a b o u t 24 h o u rs
she w ill do n a p a ir o f p a d d e d
fin g e rle ss g lo v e s and w ill step
in to a ca g e. T he d o o r w ill slam
b e h in d h er, an d she w ill m eet
h er o p p o n e n t w ho w ill attem p t
to p u m m e l h e r in to s u b m is
sio n .
D eSim one is am ong a handful
o f salty w om en in O regon who
compete in mixed-martial arts tour
nam ents: a budding, full-contact
sport that incorporates elem ents
o f various com bative disciplines,
like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muai Thai
kickboxing, and Ninjutsu.
A fight breaking out between
girls m ay have been a novelty on
the playground, but it is even
m ore so in a com petitive arena.
There is little treasure or fame for
the few w om en who have the
gusto to com pete in mixed martial
a rts . B u t th is d o e s n 't d e te r
scrappy Fighters like DeSim one.
The am ount o f money that has
gone into prom oting and build
ing mixed martial arts for women is
m inim al com pared to m ale-fo
cused full-contact sports like Ul
tim ate Fighting Cham pionship,
according to Chael Sonnen, vice
president o f the Full C ontact
Fighting Federation.
T here is no title, no money,
and little fame to be gained for the
w om en fighters.
S onnen said th a t o nly six
w om en in the state o f Oregon
have signed up to com pete, and
only four have actually stepped
into the ring so far.
L ast m onth U FC President
Dana W hite sparked controversy
when he stated that there were
not enough good fem ale fighters
to start a division for them.
Sarah Oriza, whoowns My Girls
Gym in southeast Portland and
trains D eSim one, sees a bit more
acceptance for w om en in the
sport.
O riza can rattle o ff the nam es
of a few relatively fam ous female
fighters, like G ina Carrano, but
there aren't really any household
names.
She said that she's had trouble
getting prom oters to take the
fights seriously, and typically the
first thing they ask is if the com
batants are easy on the eyes. She
suspects that men w ho arrange
fights aren't interested in seeing
w om en hit, especially by each
other, and don’t w ant to see them
leave the ring in a weepy and
battered condition.
B u t th is is n 't sto p p in g
D eSim one, who aspires to be on
the lips o f full-contact fighting
fans everyw here.
" E v e ry o n e w as lik e 'w h y
w ould you w ant to do that?"' said
D eSim one of the reaction of her
friends and fam ily to h er decision
A rare female
fighter in mixed
martial arts, Jody
DeSimone trains
at My Girls Gym
in southeast
Portland.
PHOTO BY
J ake T homas /
T he P ortland
O bserver
to fight com petitively. Only her
brother and father understood.
W hen D eSimone was growing
up in W ashington's San Juan Is
lands she recalls her parents buy
ing her apony, and being indiffer
ent to it. She rem em bers being
m ore interested in building tree
forts, getting dirty, and firearm s
during her childhood. She was
also interested in martial arts, and
had an all black ninja outfit a, age
7.
At My Girl's Gym, heavy metal
music hum s in the background
over the percussive thw acks o f
DeSimone striking a punching pad
held up by Oriza.
A fterafew minutes, Oriza tack
les DeSimone. The two frantical ly
roll around on the mat trying to
subdue each other, with an occa-
sional chortle slipping out.
"I'm
e x h a u s te d ,"
sa id
D eSim one o f her training.
D eSim one began attending
mixed-martial arts class at the gym
for exercise. After tw o months,
Oriza, approached her about fight
ing com petitively. A girl had
dropped out o f a fight and a re
placem ent was needed.
DeSimone was uneasy with the
idea. Most fighters train for six
months. She had only trained for
two. H eropponent weighed about
the same, about 125 pounds, but
was about a foot taller.
DeSim one, who describes her
self as career-oriented, w orks in
advertising and didn't relish the
idea o f meeting a client with a
co n tin u ed
on p a g e A 7
FINANCIAL
AID DAY
Saturday
January 24, 2009
Drop in from
9 am - 2 pm
If you need money for college, but don’t know how
to get started, come to PCC’s Financial Aid Day!
You may qualify for government grants or low-interest student loans.
Get free help submitting the federal financial aid form (FAFSFA) for
any college at these PCC locations:
Cascade Campus
705 N Killingsworth
Southeast Center
2305 SE 82nd Ave.
Rock Creek Campus
17705 NW Springville Rd
Sylvania Campus
12000 SW 49th Ave.
Find out what to bring! www.pcc.edu/finaidday
P o rtla n d .
Com m unity
College
We're all about
your future.
Black Coalition
Calendars Available
Portland's C oalition o f Black Men has published its first
tribute calendar featuring 12 A frican A m erican m en w ho were
instrum ental in Portland' history, m aking life better for A frican
A m ericans and all O regonians.
"This calendar is the first o f what w e hope will be an annual
project for the Coalition to prom ote past effective and influential
leaders o f the A frican A m erican Com munity," said Jam es Posey,
coalition president.
Proceeds from the calendar will be used to support the
group’s initiatives that focus on econom ic developm ent for the
A frican A m erican com m unity and educational equity for our
youth.
C alendars can be purchased for $ 10 from C oalition m em bers
or from the follow ing locations: Reflections and Talking Drum
Bookstore. E lliot E -M at Café, G eneva’s, Platinum Fade Salon,
T he Urban League o f Portland, Tate Insurance, V ictory O ut
reach C hurch, E arl' s Barbershop, N ortheast Coalition o f N eigh
bors and M ahogany B eauty (Lloyd M all).
For m ore inform ation, em ail Posey at posej@ com cast.net or
call T ony Jones at 503-954-4027.
Local Inauguration Event
The W est Lexus Lounge at
O ne C enter C ourt in the Rose
Q uarter will host a local Inaugura
tion C elebration rejoicing in the
installation o f Barack O bam a as
the first A frican Am erican Presi
dent.
Scheduled Tuesday, Jan. 20,
from 6 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., the cel
ebration is open to public, and
sponsored by the National A sso
ciation o f Real Estate Brokers and
M W Prince Hall Mason.
T h e In a u g u ra tio n w ill be
broadcast on huge screen TVs
and there will be com m unity
speakers and live entertainm ent
fe a tu rin g N orm an S y lv ester,
Ocean 503, Andy Stokes,
E lite, N g u lu a D o d ier, Liv
W arfield and others.
A donation o f $ 10 o r four non-
perishable food items is requested
to support the Oregon Food Bank
and Calvary C hristian Church
com m unity housing and educa
tion programs.
F or m ore inform ation, call
Calvin K yles at 503-975-2769 or
Earline Penson at 503-804-8781.
■■■M B M M IM N M M M M ffM M H N M N M M IIIK IM M M N M M M N M M M M M M M M H riH M M M M M N M M N fIM M M I
Faubion School Inaugural Ball
Faubion Elementary, 3030 N.E.
Rosa Parks W ay, will host a “Power
of a D ream " com munity celebra
tion honoring Barack O bam a as
the first black President on Friday,
Jan. 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
School leaders, parents and
volunteers will tum the school
cafeteria intoa mini inaugural ball
with food, music and balloons.
Dion Jordan, a m otivational
speaker and Faubion parent will
give the keynote speech.
For more information, call Prin
cipal LaShawn A. Lee at 503-916-
5686.
You don't have to save
the world. Just turn
the bathroom lights off.
“ W E C A N HELP YO U SAVE ENERGY A N D M O N E Y .’’
If we all make simple changes, we can make a big impact. Turning off lights
when you leave a room is a good start. You can also install energy-saving
compact fluorescent light bulbs, lower your thermostat, replace energy-craving
appliances with FNERGY STAR appliances and much more. You'll save energy,
Zoo Admission Free on MLK Day
The O regon Z oo invites fam i
lies to a free adm ission day for the
Martin Luther King Jr. National
holiday on M onday, Jan. 19.
"Our hope is to m ake the zoo
accessib le to all," said T ony
V ecchio, zoo director. “Through
discounted days like M LK Day
and our Second Tuesday pro
gram held every month, we strive
for as many visitors as possible to
make em otional connections with
animals."
The zoo is a service o f M etro
and is dedicated to its m ission to
inspire the com m unity to create a
better future for w ildlife. The zoo
opens at 9 a m. daily and is lo
cated five m inutes from dow n
town Portland, just o ff Highway
26. The zoo is also accessible by
MAX light rail line.
money and you'll be doing your part. You’ll find plenty of energy saving answers
at p acificpo w er.n et
^PACIFIC POWER
Let's turn the answers on.
I