How Jenny Voronoff is helping more women enter the Jiu-Jitsu world

Jiu-Jitsu is a traditionally male-dominated art form, but one woman in Melbourne is trying to shift the tune.

When Jenny Voronoff met her future husband, Ivan, in 2016, she didn’t know he was a Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He told Jenny he wanted to start his own academy one day, because Jiu-Jitsu is so much more than a job, or a sport for him. It runs through the blood. It’s essentially a way of life.

Voronoff asked Ivan what he planned to do about it.

“He didn’t have a business plan,” she told Women’s Agenda. “We spent most Saturday nights for the next 3 months writing one and within 6 months we had opened our doors in October 2017.”

It’s been a long journey since those humble beginnings. Today, Voronoff and her husband are co-owners of the Melbourne Jiu-Jitsu Academy, a school offering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, self-defence, and wrestling classes for pre-schoolers, kids, teens, and adults.

Voronoff manages all the administration, website, marketing, and social media, while her husband leads a team of five instructors.

While balancing her other job as a senior product manager in the travel industry, Voronoff is working to create an inclusive, ego-free and family-friendly space where absolutely everyone feels safe, welcome, and supported.

“It’s not just an academy, it’s a community, and we’re really proud of the strong member culture we’ve cultivated here,” she said.

As a woman, Voronoff has felt the gender disparities within the art form. “It’s absolutely male-dominated… but I’ve [tried to] bring a different perspective, as a female, a mother and someone who doesn’t train,” she said.

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“It’s definitely changing and we’re getting more and more girls and women through the door, but it’s been a very deliberate effort.”

Voronoff said she is conscious about ensuring women and girls are represented in her business strategy, programs, content, and messaging. Marking International Women’s Day, the academy ran a free women-only self-defence class, taught by women, for women.

They have also added a women-only class to the timetable, open to all women, all levels, and even casual drop-ins.

“What we’ve found is that we’re getting women from other academies, from all over Melbourne,” she added. “In particular; women who need genuine women-only spaces to train due to their faith and religion.”

“We’re able to provide employment opportunities for women in a male-dominated industry and give girls and women some practical tools to feel stronger, confident and safer.”

Since opening, the academy’s had plenty of challenges. During the pandemic, it was one of the first fitness centres to close, and the last to reopen. In total, it was forced to close its doors for just under 350 days.

“Like everyone else, it was difficult living in the constant state of uncertainty, both mentally and in a practical sense,” Voronoff says. In their attempts to stay productive, Ivan offered online classes, though numbers dwindled. In a heartbreaking decision, Voronoff and her husband decided to put everything in storage. Ivan got his forklift licence between lockdowns and went to work unloading shipping containers.

All the while, spirits were maintained thanks to the community at the academy. Voronoff said they were supported by members and their families in a variety of ways.

“We were confident we would come out the other side because it was clear it meant as much to our members as it did to us. That’s the impact of building a community, not just a gym.”

Always the planner, Voronoff went to work ‘controlling the controllables’. They used their downtime to update their strategy and business plan. Voronoff overhauled the website, and upgraded their systems and processes.

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For her, it was important to hit the ground running when things opened up.

When it finally did, she was able to sign a five-year lease for a new, larger location around the corner from their original centre.

“It’s a cliché but I genuinely believe that adversity brings opportunity both personally and professionally,” Voronoff said. “You are forced to be creative, become stronger, more resourceful, more grateful.”

And personally, while juggling the stress of the lockdowns, the Voronoffs were also faced the devastating pregnancy loss of twin girls.

“Like so many others going through the same thing you put on a brave face and get on with it because there’s bills to pay, meetings to chair, deadlines to meet,” she said. “At some point you need to pick yourself up and choose to move forward.”

Voronoff says she knows so many women in business are facing adversity — whether it’s due to personal circumstances, and/or the current economic conditions.

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Asked her advice to others women in business, she asks them to recognise the value they bring to the business first and foremost as a woman.

“I think we’ve been conditioned to believe it’s a disadvantage. Impostor syndrome is real, and I see women hold themselves back from opportunities all the time because of it. I certainly have.”

“Back yourself and surround yourself with people who only want to see you smash glass ceilings, and will hold you to it.”

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.