FULMER, RODRIGUEZ WORK OUT IN TAMPA
By SUZANNE M. SCHMIDT

The moment Pride Elementary School fifth-grader Molly Fulmer locked an arm bar on her opponent, she knew she was going to win the match.
Fulmer, along with her coach Christina Rodriguez, went to the North American Grappling Association 2007 World Championship April 21 in Jersey City, N.J. Fulmer and New Tampa resident Rodriguez both won first place in their weight and experience category.
At the NAGA competition, Fulmer and Rodriguez participated in submission and grappling matches during which no striking, kicking or punching is allowed.
“The round lasted three minutes and we started standing up,” Fulmer said. “We would get points for a take down, an attempted submission or getting a dominant position. If we submitted someone and made them tap out, then we would automatically win.”
Fulmer won one of her matches with a submission hold called the arm bar.
“Whenever I have a submission hold on someone and I have them locked down, I can imagine winning the match and having my arm raised,” Fulmer said. “Going to the competition helped to teach me what I need to learn to become a better fighter.”
Fulmer has been studying martial arts since she was 4-years-old and has been doing ju-jitsu for the last year-and-a-half at Gracie Tampa, 13709 N. Nebraska Ave.
“I like studying martial arts,” Fulmer said. “I like to always be moving and you are always moving in martial arts. I like to punch and kick.”
Fulmer won first place in the intermediate no gi competition for girls 10 to 14 and won the expert gi competition for girls 10 to 14. A gi is an outfit worn for various martial arts.
“I started learning ju-jitsu because most of the time I was learning stand up fighting in kickboxing and tae kwon do,” Fulmer said. “I wanted to learn the ground fighting.”
Rodriguez, 22, won first place in the no gi expert division fly weight, which was for women 120 pounds or less. Rodriguez has been studying mixed martial arts for 14 years.
“My mom used to train in judo,” Rodriguez said. “One day when she picked me up from school, she asked me if I wanted to try it and I said yes. You couldn’t keep me off the mat ever since.”
Rodriguez said she enjoys mixed martial arts enough to keep her training every day.
“I am good at it and it is a lot of fun,” Rodriguez said. “It is a great workout and I like the social aspect of it. I meet a lot of people. I also like how small I am and how I can beat a lot of the guys.”
Due to Rodriguez’s stellar performance at the match, she is now invited to try out for the U.S. World Grappling Team that will be competing in the Olympics. The next tournament is in Las Vegas in June; if she wins, she will go to Turkey for the next tournament. The winner of that tournament will be eligible to compete in the Olympics.
“There is a lot of hard work ahead,” Rodriguez said. “I am not a huge fan of competing, but I love grappling. It is a good way to get known and if I want to start my own school one day, I will need that.”
Even if Rodriguez does not get onto the Olympics team, she still plans to compete in the RFC in November. The RFC is a mixed martial arts fighting championship in Tampa.
“I think ultimate fighting will never be for girls what it is for the guys,” Rodriguez said. “It is a very rough sport and it is so male-dominated that I don’t think there will ever be that many women in it,” Rodriguez said. “I always watch the UFC matches.”
While training every day, Rodriguez and Fulmer did a lot of circuit training, weight lifting, running, plyometrics, agility drills, ju-jitsu and judo.
“Everybody likes to win,” Rodriguez said. “I did not expect to win. I have a real sense of accomplishment because of who I beat. I beat Patricia Miranda, the only girl to ever place in the Olympics in wrestling.”
Robert Fulmer said he takes his daughter to learn mixed martial arts because it is a more realistic and comprehensive type of fighting.
“If she had to defend herself against someone, this is the best martial arts for her to learn,” Fulmer said. “A lot of martial arts only teach one aspect like kicking or punching. If someone tries to take her to the ground, then nothing she learned in tae kwon do would help her.”
Fulmer said his daughter has worked hard and deserves the medals she won.
“She was the one motivated to do this,” Fulmer said. “At any time, she could have stopped. As a parent, it is wonderful to watch your child have a goal and then work very hard towards achieving it. When I saw them put the two medals on her neck, it was amazing.”
Both Rodriguez and Fulmer train at Gracie Tampa, a mixed martial arts, submission grappling, and Brazilian ju-jitsu training facility. The owner of the training center, Rob Kahn, trained under Royce Gracie, a legend in the UFC arena, to get his black belt.
For information, visit http://www.gracietampa.com.