To say that I’m excited about this week’s collection would be the literal understatement of the year…and the year just started. Not only am I SUPER pumped about the designs…but this collection is inspired by one of most truly badass and inspiring people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting recently. Her name is Felicia Oh.
Some of you may know that I have spent a good chunk of my life training and teaching Krav Maga, which is a self defense martial art from Israel. From ages 17-24 my full time job was teaching and training and I loved it. Several years ago, though, I was ready to expand my love for martial arts and began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)…and like most people who start training in BJJ, I became hooked.
In July 2021, I attended an all women’s BJJ camp, which was an incredibly profound experience on a number of levels. It was taught by 5 female world champions, and there were 50 women attendees, mostly brown, black, and purple belts (high ranking). of course they were all fierce, beautiful, kind, and talented. It was incredibly humbling and inspiring.
One of the instructors at this 3 day workshop was Felicia Oh, who was part of the Woman’s BJJ Dirty Dozens…these are the first women outside of Brazil to receive their Black Belt in BJJ; Felicia is #6. She began training at age 33 and obtained her Black Belt at 37, which is almost unheard of. On average, it takes people about 10 years to reach this rank! She crushed it in competitions, both nationally & internationally.
I could go on and on about her achievements and accolades (check out her bio on BJJ Heroes), however the thing that truly made the greatest impact on me was the time she took after one of the long days of training to share and connect with me, just some random chick who signed up for this seminar. I learned that she is an artist as well and, also like me, had been bouncing back from soul sucking health conditions that diminished her quality of life for years. It was incredibly impactful for me to be able to share and connect with such an impressive person who was also determined to live their life fully, even after many years were snatched away by spending most of the time too exhausted to function.
I am way wayyyy healthier than I was in my 20’s, however, I still have tremendous flareups that affect me greatly. Despite it all, I am glad to say I am much better today than I was just a few years ago. Since I turned 30 (I’m turning 40 in June!!) I made a commitment to myself to LIVE my life any opportunity I had; meaning when I had the energy and ability to actually do anything. Thankfully, I haven’t met too many other people who’s also experienced this, but I know they are out there too. This shared time with Felicia inspired me especially because she had such a similar journey and she too found a way to LIVE and do what she loves.
Community is so important for this reason. Whether it’s a physical or mental health condition, or shitty life events and circumstances, it’s so important to connect with others who get it…just having someone say ‘me too’ can make you feel seen and heard and validated when maybe you’re having a hard time doing it yourself.
So this brings us to the ‘Find Your Flow with Felicia Oh’ Collection. A few months back Felicia sent me some sketches of design ideas to see if I could create something for her to wear for when she works as an inspector for the California State Athletic Commission (you may see her at the UFC events and other high level fighting events in California). Of course I said ‘YES’ and the ‘Find Your Flow’ Collection was born.
There are about 10 ‘Neck Pieces’ as Felicia has lovingly named them…they are the Chonkiest of Chonks and ready for you when you’re ready to get aligned AF. In addition, I created about 20+ designs on the simpler side for those also ready to get aligned AF but just not announce it to the world quite so loudly lol. So there are options for no matter what your mood and your vibe is right now.
In addition, 25% of any full priced purchase this week, starting 1/12, will be donated to Kimonos for Kai, a non-profit that is focused on helping prevent teen suicide. Felicia is one of their ambassadors and the work they do is quite incredible.
Here is an interview she did recently that is inspiring and will introduce you to Felicia beautifully (also she talks about Hawk Couture at 45 min in…huge honor!!):
Check out one of her legendary fights here:
