From the age of 7 to 16 I trained in Judo. In my early teens I also spent a few years training in Shotakan Karate and Tae Kwon-Do (ITF). When I was 18 I spent a year training in Boxing in a gym where we had the under 16 national champion. Years later I decided to try Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and without a doubt it is by far the most effective and complete of them all. My only regret is I didn't start this when I was 7.

In 2014, Ayesha became the first female to receive a Blue Belt at Watford Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Having fallen in love with the technical and self defense aspects, she is eager to share her passion for the art with others. She blogs about her experience being a female Jiu-Jitsu practitioner at www.jitzchick.blogspot.co.uk. In addition to Jiu-Jitsu, she holds a Purple Belt in Kajukenbo and is a certified fitness nutritionist and personal trainer. Outside the world of physical fitness and martial arts, she is an English language instructor and holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics.

I started with martial arts at the age of 18 with Judo then moved to Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), Jeet Kune Do and Kali Arnis Escrima, all striking based close combat martial arts.
In 2014 I came across Gracie Jiu-Jitsu which completely changed my view of self-defense systems and made me want to study the art and share it with as many people as possible. I spend my time "off the mat" working for Comic Relief as a Web Developer.