SPORTS
“Ultimately, in a fight, it’s about damage. You want to end the fight. You don’t want to just hold the [opponent] down. There’s something inherent about punching and hurting someone rather than taking them down and holding them.” Oh works mostly in California but is also licensed in Arizona and has judged events at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino in Chandler. Asked for her takeaways from the last 24 years in BJJ and related sports, Oh said she is grateful. “In the big picture, life is insane and incredible. I learned to be open to opportunities, to step up and say yes when they present themselves,” she said. “Sometimes I pinch myself because of the things I get to do and the people I get to meet. I’ve had so many incredible opportunities. It’s important to try things — if you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it.” As for what’s next, it’s an open canvas. “I’m not a good architect or planner. I just look one or two steps ahead, kind of like I did in jiu-jitsu.”
way. She coached a wrestler who earned a D-I scholarship to CSU-Bakersfield and is now a high school coach. One of his athletes was a student of Oh’s when he was just 6 years old. New challenges Next on Oh’s career path was a role as an inspector with the California State Athletic Commission. The agency regulates boxing, kickboxing and MMA in the Golden State. Oh compared the role to a “fight cop,” ensuring rules are followed and there is an equal playing field for all competitors. Part of her role was to make sure fighters were prepared. One example was ensuring they were warmed up on time, “because if it was a show on TV, they were not going to wait for you.” After seven years as an inspector, Oh became a professional MMA judge. That continued her string of unexpected moves and required a shift in her approach. “I was a judge in 2002 at a blue belt event [at a California casino] and a riot broke out. They shut down the show and sequestered us in a back room,” she recalled. “That was so much
other forms of mixed martial arts. As early as 2002, she started interviewing MMA fighters. That led to new journalistic opportunities, including a podcast on Grapple TV that featured conversations at events with both BJJ and MMA competitors. “Before jiu-jitsu, I thought cage fighting was crazy,” she declared. “But then I understood it’s a sport and not a match to the death. It evolved into a very specialized hybrid of three or four different sports.” Oh, a Masters Hall of Fame inductee in Ohio, continued her career coaching BJJ, MMA and wrestling. “I never wanted to be a teacher, but it seemed like whatever I did I ended up teaching.” Comparing competing to coaching, Oh conceded, “It’s two different experiences. In some senses, it’s much harder coaching. It’s like playing a video game and the controller is not connected. I’m more nervous watching friends or students; you can’t control anything. Competing is a whole different set of stress and nerves, but you are in control in a different way.” That part of her career came full circle in a
trauma that I said I would never judge again. Twenty years and one month later, I’m sitting in a judging course again.” Judges, like referees in other sports, are typically anonymous “until people are not happy with what you do, and everyone hates you. It’s kind of a thankless job.” Oh and other judges must be fair and impartial. Or, in her words, adjusting her relationships with people she knows to be more professional. Many people, she said, don’t understand the criteria involved in judging a fight. There’s something inherent about punching and hurting someone rather than taking them down and holding them.” FELICIA OH
World champion and hall of famer Felicia Oh today coaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu, mixed martial arts and wrestling in Maricopa.
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InMaricopa.com | September 2024
September 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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