Heart of the Matter

---

Gina Hopkins will not get the glances to which she has grown accustomed throughout her life. She is one of more than 40 disabled athletes set to compete in the inaugural Grappler’s Heart tournament on Saturday and Sunday at the Renzo Gracie Fight Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I love challenging the perception of being disabled and being a fighter, let alone being a female fighter,” said Hopkins, a 29-year-old Brit who was born with the neurological movement disorder Dystonia. “So being a 5-foot-1 disabled female fighter is just brilliant. If people don’t know me, they think I have turned up for the wrong class.”

Grappler’s Heart is the brainchild of orthopedic surgeon Jon Gelber, a fellow at the Cleveland Clinic.

“Jon is poised to make history in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling by creating a positive and challenging environment for grapplers with disabilities to compete in,” said Hopkins, whose disorder causes uncontrollable movements.

Gelber has long been interested in MMA. He founded FightMedicine.net -- a site dedicated to making the sport safer -- and has weighed in on fighter health and injuries for various websites.

“I looked to see where these gifted athletes could compete,” Gelber said. ”As a result, I felt I should start a tournament.”

Gelber is quick to point out that he is staging a grappling tournament, meaning there will be no punches or kicks thrown during the competition.

“While researching articles, I came across many stories of grapplers who have overcome disabilities using jiu-jitsu,” Gelber said. “We had some grapplers with cerebral palsy author some articles for my site, and pretty soon, I had a number of responses from other grapplers who told me that they thought they were the only grappler with cerebral palsy out there.”

Aaron Lapointe, from Richmond, Va., like many of this weekend’s athletes, competes regularly in martial arts competitions against able-bodied competitors. He admits a disability can sometimes prove to be an advantage.

“People with disabilities can be very difficult to grapple with because they sometimes present you with a unique challenge you have never trained for,” said Lapointe, who lost the use of his right arm in a car accident at age 7. “For example, what happens when your opponent does not have a second arm for you to grab onto? People with disabilities often make up for their apparent limitation by being exceptionally skilled in other areas.”

While Gelber has received a lot of support, there has been some pushback from disabled grapplers who did not want to be singled out by competing in Grappler’s Heart.

“I can't argue with that,” Gelber said. “However, the majority of the athletes who do compete in able-bodied tournaments are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against someone else who may not have an arm, leg, etc., to submit them with. It will be a whole new chess game for them.”

Gelber turned to crowd-funding to help raise money, and the campaign is still ongoing. He has also relied on those in the MMA community, like Renzo Gracie, who donated use of his facility.

“I want to make the event a weekend for the grapplers to learn from each other and, during seminars, about how they adapt their different abilities,” Gelber said.

For Hopkins, the competition serves as a respite from the reactions she has received for years in her native Bristol, England.

“The minute you say you like MMA, you can almost hear them thinking, ‘But you’re female and disabled. You shouldn’t be doing that. You’ll get hurt,’” Hopkins said. “I have always been judged for my choice of sports and exercise.”