Today we’d like to introduce you to Betsabe Esparza.
Hi Betsabe, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Black Widow MMA started in 2019 kind of by accident. I was an assistant instructor and my partner at the time was the head coach. It was a small program shared with another Jiu Jitsu school and we maybe had 12 students at the time. The relationship was as tumultuous to say the least, he was physically and mentally abusive on and off the mats but I loved the sport so much that I tolerated it to keep the program running and to continue to train. When the relationship finally ended, he told me to take over the gym. He said he didn’t want a gym full of hobbyist, he wanted fighters. I was left with nothing but I didn’t want the program to fail. No one knew I had to live in the gym because I had no place to go. Every day I showed up and though I had limited experience as a coach, I was fortunate to have trained with some incredible coaches like Saekson Janjira and Bob Pérez and I did my best to pass the knowledge they taught to me. I had a knack for fundamentals and so I trained hard and helped each student improve their skills. Before I knew it, we outgrew that tiny dirty warehouse and we moved to our own space. I had the opportunity to change the name and so I did, I took my grandmothers nickname and named it Black Widow MMA.
We started with 12 students in a tiny warehouse and we just moved into our 6000 sq ft facility and we now serve hundreds of people in not just Muay Thai but in Jiu Jitsu, MMA, boxing, kids classes, women’s classes, queer MMA and so much more.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never an easy road to get to anything worthwhile but you hardly notice the bumps along the way if you’re having fun! As a female owned gym, I definitely faced a lot of adversity. Before my ex left the gym, he told me I would never have any legit fighters because I didn’t get to fight. I had been training to fight but the opportunities weren’t as readily available as they are now and fight after fight fell apart. “You’re selling them snake oil! You’ll never have a legit fighter under you!” What that idiot didn’t know was that he was giving me fuel. It was never my goal to have fighters but it was my goal to help as many people get as good as they could. I now have one of the biggest competition teams in all of Austin. I have over 10 championship titles between my fighters. I not only have amateur fighters, I have professionals and international competitors as well. I’ve been a 4 time Team USA coach for both MMA and Muay Thai. So while he didn’t think I could and many also questioned my role in this sport, I’ve proven that I belong here. One of my greatest accomplishments isn’t just the titles, it’s how accessible our programs are. We’ve taken people with zero experience and made them confident and capable in a sport that isn’t easy. Less than 1% of the world does what we do and we have people from all walks of life doing it. It’s a great source of pride for our team. And I didn’t do any of this alone, along the way we grew from just me to now 8 coaches in various arts, each one is brilliant at what they do and they each help the team grow tremendously.
As you know, we’re big fans of Black Widow MMA. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As we’ve grown, we’ve remained focused on helping everyone get into the sport. We don’t gate keep and we work hard to make MMA accessible to everyone. One of the things that sets our program apart is our women’s classes. I’ve made it a point to try and get more women in the sport. A lot of places start with women’s programs for all the wrong reasons. They want to instill fear and focus on self defense or they go the complete opposite and make it a cardio session. While I’m aware that self defense is a topic that should be considered, I teach women to enjoy the art learn real techniques that help them feel more confident and empowered. You can come in any Saturday and you’ll see a big group of girls having fun and leveling up in a welcoming environment.
This last year we also had Coach Lu start a queer MMA group and it’s also taken off in the community. It’s been a big hit and it’s a great way to provide a safe space in an art that may feel very aggressive.
The thing about these programs too is that it creates an environment that makes people comfortable and we see so many people jump from the women’s classes or the queer MMA events into our regular classes. That’s the ultimate goal here: making it accessible to everyone. By creating these programs we provide a stepping stone for everyone to start somewhere and progress with everyone.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think one of the most surprising things about us is that while we didn’t intend to be a fighter focused gym, we have so many competitors at every single level. We take a lot of people to local tournaments, amateur and professional fights and so much more. All the coaches minus myself still compete and they have so many accolades in their art. It’s easy for the students to want to compete when their very own coaches set the example. And we build up so many of our fighters from zero experience too which is not something every gym and coach can do.
Pricing:
- We have programs ranging from $150-$200 a month
- We also offer the 12 pm Saturday Women’s Muay Thai class at zero cost. It will always be free
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.blackwidowmma.com
- Instagram: @blackwidowmmatx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackwidowmmatx
