Sunday, June 11, 2017

My Mom Thinks I'm Cool: Ronda Edition


I always think all of my children are amazing. Today is the Ronda Edition.  Sometimes, idiot people who don't know her say stupid things about Ronda. So, just you have an idea why her mom thinks she's cool  -

Ronda finished filming Battle of the Network Stars yesterday. She has been working 12-14 hours a day and then working out after the filming is over. She had lost her voice from coaching on the set and was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

She came by the house to have coffee (point number 1, visiting Mom on Sundays. You should all try it.) and autograph shirts and jackets she had donated for Gompers Judo fundraiser.


Three of our Gompers Judo students are dual citizens with the U.S. and Mexico and have been selected to compete in the Mexican junior national championships. I was concerned that one of them was too focused on cutting weight. So, Ronda offered to talk to her, called her house and spent the next 15 minutes giving a high school sophomore tips on having a healthy diet and still making weight.

She thought that people would be more likely to donate to the judo program if it was a personalized item so she gave me some of her favorite shirts and jackets, including one from Battle of the Network Stars and several from Reebok. We had to go through this twice because when she came to autograph things she said,

"Hey, I really like that one, let me switch!"

and she gave one to Julia because it was sentimental and she remembered it being her favorite shirt at Julia's age. The point, though, is, these were things she really liked and it was hard to part with, so she figured fans might be more likely to donate money to get one.

The second part of this is that we discussed what to do with the dozen items she donated. My niece, Samantha, pointed out that the only people who can win an ebay auction are people who have A LOT of money. We thought it would be nice if people who had supported Ronda through thick and thin had more of a chance. So ... we decided to contact 12 people who had always been there for her and tell them that if they would like to donate $500 they could get anything from one of Ronda's favorite jackets to a t-shirt that Marina made for her to a t-shirt that she made herself. Yes, it's not cheap, but it at least gives a chance to people who don't have thousands of dollars extra lying around, and it will cover the expenses for the rest of the year for team jackets, a team dinner and our judo road trip to visit colleges and train (we always combine the two).

On Tuesday, we are having my grandson, Cal, pull names out of a hat to decide who gets what. He is only two and can't read so you know he won't cheat.

Update: Cal pulling names at 5:30 pm Pacific Time on Facebook Live today, June 19, 2017. 

(Sorry for the delay. I got backed up with work and our Master of Ceremonies was taking a nap two of the times I tried to arrange it.)

Just so you know, four of our students who started with us at Gompers Middle School are high school seniors this year. 

Meet our high school seniors

Did I mention that Ronda started this program (it was her sister, Jennifer's idea, so props to Jenn who did her student teaching at Gompers)? Ronda taught here for free for two years and has donated a lot of her own money and time ever since. (Also, those mats above are from Swain Martial Arts , from Michael Swain, just to show Ronda isn't the only judo champion helping make the world a better place).

Just to give you an idea of how hard these kids from south Los Angeles work and how much they deserve your support, here is just a little bit of practice yesterday. Now, mind you, Friday was the last day of school and they STILL all came to practice after school and Saturday was the first day of summer vacation and they STILL all got up and were in front of the school at 8 am to drive out to La Puente for an extra practice. 


I'm assuming since you read this blog you are NOT an idiot, but next time you read something bad about Ronda, know that THIS is what she did on Sunday after working nearly 200 hours over the past two weeks.

And then, she took her family to brunch.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Ma'am, please never forget Ronda has many fans out there, ready to cheer her no matter what she does. She is our Champ, simple as that.
By the way, I can't wait to watch Battle of The Network Stars.

Kris Creighton said...

Dr. AnnMaria, I am a true fan of Rondas. I feel like we are friends. I know that's incredibly strange to say but it's truth. When she lost to Holly my heart was SHATTERED. Not bc I am a fan but bc I knew her heart was broken and I wanted to do anything to help her up, yet, I knew I had zero power to. It was incredibly hard and as I trained (Bjj) and worked out I thought of her- pushing myself hoping she was doing the same. At 207 I bought tickets to sit right where she would walk out. I cared about no other fight. I flew from NH to Vegas literally for one night for that fight. I wanted her to have at least one person in that building that cared for sure about her as a person and not as a celebrity (And not be family.) I was nervous for her, shaking, rocking back and forth. I wanted nothing but the absolute best for her, again not as a fan but for her as a person. My flight was right after the fight- I nearly missed it bc I was pacing back and forth outside wanting nothing more than to hug and support her. I didn't know what I would say if hell did freeze over and that happened, but I waited to the last possible second just in case. This likely sounds batshit crazy to you. But as an athlete with a similar heart as her I understand that pain. Never even close to that level, but after reading her book I felt like- that's me. There were statements made by her regarding "fake fans" or something to that degree. Telling people where she was etc (right before the 207 fight in her training article) and seriously it pissed me off, that people would treat her that way (treat anyone that way). And I was damned that there wasn't gonna be someone she could trust in her corner in hard times to support her, even if she didn't know it. So as I said I went to Vegas. I hope the fans were heard that night- because so many- as you know cheered her. And I believe they did it truly. Anytime someone says negative, know you're not alone in defending her. I see the heart she has and I'm so glad she has a platform to reach others. I've never been a "fan girl" meaning I never feel the person I wanna speak with will get what I write or share. And I never know about autograph signings and stuff so I never feel I'll be able to say anything to Ronda myself. I'm actually doubting you'll even read this to be real. Lol. But just know, there is at least one stranger who legitimately would punch someone in the face (almost did at UFC 207) for running their mouth about her. lol I am happy to hear she's out doing a bunch of stuff. I also feel incredibly blessed to have gotten to see her get back in the octagon. The heart of a real champion. I also wanna say that I feel blessed you guys are thinking of those of us who aren't loaded and can't afford as much on items on ebay. Y'all do amazing work and it's awesome to see people actually caring and pushing for the best for what they love. I promise I'm not crazy or a stalker. I simply feel I understand her and I have a great respect. I don't do the shiny light bullshit. I understand Ronda is human. And she deserves to be treated like one. So to the "stupid people" as you called them, stfu. Lol- again- thank you for raising a woman about hard work, honesty and no BS. It's refreshing. :) And Ronda, as a fan, I would LOVE to see you fight again. But remember you don't owe us shit- do what's best for you first and bag everyone else. And please, keep taking care of yourself and speaking what's on your mind. -Krista June

TamTopesNZ said...

I think your whole family is amazing! Ronda is such a grounded person who continues to break stigmas and make statements and gives 100s of thousands of people across the globe warm fuzzies, motivation and inspiration. Who cares about the negative nancy's they need people in thier life to hate on as well - so Ronda provides for those fuckwits as well! #Roudyfan4life

Michelle said...

As a teacher, I love this. I was so glad I could come support 7generation games before Ronda's fight in Vegas this past December. It was a true honor to meet you, and I can tell everyone you guys are the real deal. Again, Ronda donated so many awesome things we got to take home and made our trip from NY well worth it. Hope she knows how much her true fans appreciate her, and will continue to do so. Congrats to the Gompers seniors!!!

Unknown said...

I love it...this is the Ronda we know and love. She must have a great mom ;)

Unknown said...

DrAnnMaria Im one of the thousands of real fans of Ronda that dont believe everything we read from her...we know she is the coolest,smartest bad ass person out there and we love her and stand with her 1000% at whatever she does.She always will be our champ...and we are happy as long she is happy😊..

Unknown said...

Your daughter is extra cool!!

ABC made a smart choice.

SADLOVE said...

I love it...this is the Ronda we know and love. She must have a great mom ;)
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Ardebaren said...

She just needs to ignore people who talk shit about her. Generally, I find people only talk shit about you when A) they're jealous of your accomplishments (which let's be honest, Ronda has accomplished a great deal so far despite still being so young), or B) they're just total dickheads (sorry for being crass... I couldn't think of any other way to put it, though)

Anyway!

Summary!

Proud mother + hard working daughter = awesome team.

Dr. AnnMaria said...

Yes, BobCatSalesman, I completely agree with you.

Anonymous said...

I have a question about judo competitions, or fighting competitions in general. It might be a stupid question but what is the mindset of the competitors -- are you literally trying to kill each other, while being mindful of the rules? In a throw would you like to break the opponent's back? With a punch would you like to crush the opponent's head? What is the proper mindset? Does it differ from combat only in that there are rules?

Thanks for the opportunity to ask.
Bill

Oscar Fernandez said...

nice post