When it comes to Lorelai Innes, junior at Primavera, she kicks butt.
Both metaphorically in school, and literally as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter. Well, not literally, since that would be an illegal move.
But she is incredibly accomplished, hard-working and all-around amazing! Check out her story below.
Meet Lorelai Innes
We were lucky to have some time to meet with Lorelai. One of the first things we noticed when meeting her was her energy. Lorelai has dreams and goals, and she knows exactly what her plan is to accomplish them. She is enthusiastic about life and gives back by coaching classes for the younger students.
In elementary school, Lorelai faced ongoing bullying. She mentioned that she never really felt confident enough in herself to stand up. Her sister suggested she tried Jiu Jitsu with her, but it didn’t seem like something she was interested in, so she tried out Kickboxing with a friend first.
Eventually, she gave Jiu-Jitsu a try, and found that–as she put it–throwing people down to the ground was her thing. She immediately fell in love with the style of fighting and knew that she had found her life passion at that moment.
From there, Lorelai got to work. She felt herself getting stronger, not just physically, but mentally. She was finding confidence and loved what she was doing.
By sixth grade, Lorelai was finding that training 1.5 hours after school wasn’t enough for her to reach her goals. That’s when she started looking for an alternative option and eventually came to Primavera Online School.
Winning her First Medal
Fun fact: Lorelai is not just an excellent fighter, she is also a Rock, Paper, Scissors master. It’s actually how she earned her first metal.
In the tournament, the last fight came down to her and her best friend. They decided to determine first place with a Rock, Paper, Scissors.
“She does not lose in Rock, Paper, Scissors, not with her friends, family, anywhere, it’s crazy!” Her dad, Chris said.
“I’m a madwoman,” Lorelai responded.
Since then, Lorelai has gone on to fight in several more tournaments, including the World’s, which is what it sounds like. People from different countries compete to see who is the best. Lorelai has already placed second before and is currently training for what she hopes will become her first gold medal in the World’s.
What does it take to be a top Jiu-Jitsu Fighter?
A whole lot of work and dedication. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Lorelai’s days are filled to the brim with training. She trains and exercises multiple times on those days, along with school work wherever she can fit it in. Tuesdays and Thursdays, she trains and coaches, leaving most of her day dedicated to working on school work.
Balancing School and Jiu-Jitsu
“I couldn’t do all I wanted to were it not for Primavera,” said Lorelai.
“In the mornings, she has a rare opportunity to train with adults, because that’s who is at the gym during that time, and it pushes her to a new level,” said her dad Chris. “And because she can go to school anywhere with her laptop, she can work anytime in the day and get the education she needs. It’s amazing.”
The teacher’s responsiveness and caring is something Lorelai felt is unique to Primavera, and has really helped her grades compared to a former online school she attended.
“I feel like I can send a text or an email whenever I need help and I know they are going to respond right away,” said Lorelai. “Whereas before in my old online school, I felt like I was left on my own and if I didn’t understand, that was too bad. The teachers at Primavera are just so helpful.”
Lorelai and her sister run an Instagram account together, follow them at @innes.sisters.bjj.
