Refreshed Taylor Biagi returns at Sub Spectrum 7.0 looking to win and inspire
Chicago Jiu-Jitsu standout Taylor Biagi is making her return to competition after a year and a half away, and she believes she’s doing it in the best shape she’s been in, not just physically but mentally as well. Making her return at Sub Spectrum 7.0 on March 2, Biagi is a four-time Pan American champion (twice at blue belt and twice at purple belt), a World’s medalist at purple belt and a 20-time IBJJF Open Gold Medalist as she works with her Professor Mark Vives.
While returning to competition is important for Biagi, she credits her time away from the sport as a big reason as to why she feels better than ever, not only physically but also mentally. In an interview with MyMMANews, Biagi discusses her return to jiu-jitsu on March 2, for Sub Spectrum 7.0 an invite-only competition, how taking time off helped her in a major way, and how becoming a coach during her time has given her a new mindset as she returns to competition.
“During the time off I really figured out a lot about myself and what I really want out of life. When I started getting thrown back into the jiu-jitsu world, I was offered a personal trainer position which then turned into a jiu-jitsu coaching position and I re-discovered my love for the sport and my new love for teaching as well. So coming back, I feel much smarter and wiser, and re-ignited my passion that I’ve had for many years, so it feels really good.”
For Biagi, getting back into competition wasn’t the fuel to re-igniting her passion for jiu-jitsu, it was having the opportunity to become a personal trainer and then become a jiu-jitsu coach and help non-competitors, every day people, learn the sport that she’s been around for 10 years.
“Yeah, introducing someone who has never seen the sport before and watching them fall in love with and learn it, that had a lot to do with re-igniting my passion. It wasn’t about being away from the sport or the politics, it was more so just sharing my love for it with others that really made me happy. Aside from that, being away from it after being so burnt out from it, I came full circle, I tried to look for other passions and interests, but when I started training again I realized this is my favorite things in the world.”
Now that she is back and competing, Biagi says she’s looking to making a few adjustments in her competitions and how she plans to get the victory in the 8-woman invite-only, cash prize tournament at Sub Spectrum. Outside of the tournament, Biagi laid out her plans for the rest of 2019 and what she’d like to do in competitions moving forward.
“The 8-woman tournament is stacked to the brim, there is world champions in there, not a single girl has dropped or made a complaint, so we are all ready to fight. Something different about this is that all my titles were in IBJJF which means they’re all based on points and time, but this tournament is submission-only. Every girl is going to be going really hard to get the submissions, and I know I’ve been going out there in training looking for the submission, so I’ll be going out there to rip arms off.”
The return for Taylor Biagi with new rules at Sub Spectrum also means she is setting out to show a totally different person and competitor when she steps back on the mat.
“I feel people are going to see a totally different athlete to be completely honest. My last tournament I was tricky, I was fancy, I was reactionary, and I think that my growth since my break will show that I’m a much hungrier, more brutal athlete, and a smarter one. I’m going to finish these girls.”
In her time away from jiu-jitsu, Taylor Biagi learned more about herself and did so by branching out and helping others. In her time away Biagi has seen her passion become re-ignited by helping others and becoming not only a personal trainer but a coach as well. In becoming a coach and trainer, Biagi has not only got her own passion back, but fell even more in love with the sport because she’s helping others learn something new.
The road back to jiu-jitsu wasn’t just to jump right back in it for Biagi, she took time to focus on herself not only as a competitor but as a woman and as a woman competitor who can inspire every day people whether she’s on the mats at her gym or in competition, and in knowing all that, she knows she’ll be a totally different athlete at Sub Spectrum.
