Faces of 501: Jessica Johnston
Jessica Johnston is the associate principal at Highland Park High School and has worked for Topeka Public Schools for the past six years. This summer, she competed for the first time in the martial art jiu-jitsu competition at the Sunflower State Games, finishing with a silver medal. Brazilian jiu-jitsu shows that a smaller, weaker person can defend themselves against a bigger opponent by using their technique and taking the fight to the ground.
“I’ve been practicing jiu-jitsu for the past two years. I originally began by taking a
modern self-defense course through FIRE Defensive Skills here in Topeka.
Jiu-jitsu was a major component of the class. It is designed to give a smaller
person an advantage by using techniques and leverage if a fight would ever end
up going to the ground. As a five foot, one-inch woman this is very important
to me. As I became more and more involved in the class I found that I really
loved grappling and started studying Gracie jiu-jitsu. When you first
start anything you find that you have a lot to learn. It's difficult going
against someone who has experience and size against you. The first time I
realized that this was something I loved was when I was able to know what to do
before my opponent moved. I was able to anticipate their next move based upon
hours of practice.”
“I think Jiu-Jitsu makes
anyone who learns it feel empowered. It is a way to defend yourself against
someone bigger. I started self-defense to be able to be a role model for my
daughter and to show her that girls can be just as powerful as boys.”
“I don’t advertise that I
practice jiu-jitsu to the students, but the ones that hear about it are
interested in the martial art and have lots of questions on what jiu-jitsu
actually is. During my first competition I was extremely nervous but once I got
on the mat everything that I had trained for came back. At FIRE we always say
that you fight like you train, so I knew I was prepared. After training for the
past two years I look at things differently. It helps with stress, it’s a
killer workout and when you roll or spar you lose track of everything else
around you. You can focus on the moment. There aren’t many times in our day
that we can fully focus on just ourselves. That is the true reward. “
“What I want students to
know is that they can find something they are passionate about, study it,
practice it and teach it to others.”