Outrage at a decision on trans competitors by the British Ju-Jitsu Association has forced governing body to backtrack.
The body’s updated policy would have allowed biological men who identify as trans to compete against women in the martial art.
One outspoken detractor of the policy was tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who posted on social media site X, saying ‘This is dangerous - a totally unconscionable decision’.
The British Ju-Jitsu association has now announced a review of their trans inclusion policy and the policy no longer appears on their website.
Olympic medallist Sharron Davies discusses trans inclusion in sports
GB News
Speaking with Mark Dolan on Tuesday’s GBN Tonight, Olympic medallist Sharron Davies made clear her outrage at the idea that biological men would be allowed to compete against women.
“Men kick 50% harder. They punch 160% harder, and that’s not someone bigger, that's someone of exactly the same weight. So in a contact sport, it literally is a serious injury waiting to happen.”
“Juu-jitsu isn't the only one. I mean, in this country we have aikido, fencing, karate, taekwondo and, would you believe it, wrestling is also enabling males to actually fight females.”
“I mean, it's just madness. It literally is a serious accident waiting to happen.”
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Trans activists feel transgender people should be able to compete in women's sportsGETTYMark gave his opinion on the topic, saying: “I feel I'm living in a parallel universe. The idea that a biological man could be allowed to wrestle in a ring with a woman and then pick up a trophy, win a belt and possibly kill the poor woman. I can't believe I'm saying these words.”
Davies added, “Do you know what's really fascinating was that World Aquatics turned around when they changed the rule last year and said, ‘Let's create a special inclusion event at the World Cup in Berlin, and we will have a trans event and make sure that everyone is included’. Guess how many people entered? Not a single one.
“We've had a young girl who's been very badly injured when a fully blown male was was bowling a ball at them. So I just don't understand why we have to get to a point where people have to get hurt before we use common sense.”
Mark also asked Davies if she could see the argument that trans individuals should be included in women’s sports to acknowledge how they identify, pointing to the poor treatment of trans people in society.
Martina Navratilova blasted the 'dangerous' decision made by 'jerks' at British Ju Jitsu Association
GB News
Davies responded: “I don't understand why we can't be inclusive with people identifying however they like. And actually in most women's sport, particularly in the States, we've had many transgender men.”
“So that's biological females who identify as being male. They're not on testosterone, but they still go and race with the women. And the women have no problem with it. So if the women can have no problem with it, why can't the men with the reverse situation too, right?”
The British Ju-Jitsu Association responded to backlash to the decision, saying, “We adopted a policy in an attempt to be inclusive and fair. That policy has never needed to be implemented at our national championships because we've not had a trans competitor seeking to participate.”
“However, we've now identified that the information that our policy was based on has been superseded, and as a result, we're now conducting an urgent review of our trans inclusion policy so that it reflects the current thinking.”
