At just 18 years old, brown belt Helena Crevar has already made her mark in the jiu-jitsu world. In a recent interview with Girls in Gis, the young prodigy shared insights into her training regimen with renowned coaches Gordon Ryan and John Danaher at New Wave Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas.
Crevar, who is currently ranked number one at 155 pounds and number two at 145 pounds in the world, became the youngest medalist at ADCC and executed the first women’s heel hook at the prestigious event. Her journey in martial arts began at the age of three with Kaji Kempo, but it wasn’t until she was eight that she discovered jiu-jitsu.
“I found jiu-jitsu kind of accidentally pretty much because I was kind of wanting to do strength conditioning and the gym that had those classes also had jiu-jitsu classes,” Crevar explained. “I tried that as well and I found out that I really liked it.”
Training with the Best
Crevar’s move from Las Vegas to Austin at age 15 was a strategic decision to improve her no-gi skills for ADCC competition. After meeting Gordon Ryan at the ADCC trials in 2022, she inquired about training opportunities.
“I kind of met Gordon at the trials in 2022 and kind of asked about how it would be like to train, maybe visit sometimes,” she shared. “I visited New Wave for a couple days before we moved and I really liked the training there.”
With the support of her parents, Crevar relocated to Austin after receiving permission from both Ryan and Professor John Danaher to join their elite team. She’s been training there for about two years and reports “tremendous improvement” under their guidance.
“I feel like tremendous improvement from right now. It’s around two years that I’ve been there. So I’m really happy that I’m able to train with such an amazing team and kind of be with that group.”
“After competitions, I’m usually working on what I saw in the match that I should improve. And also kind of getting ready for the next thing, like changing my mind to the rule set that I’ll be competing in next.”
“When you’re training like listen to your coaches what they say and try to when they show you a move or something try to implement that into your game. The day of usually is the best because that’s when it’s the most fresh in your mind.”
Daily Training Regimen
Crevar maintains a rigorous schedule that includes two training sessions per day, Monday through Friday. Her day typically starts between 6:00 and 7:30 AM, followed by breakfast and a morning training session of about 60–90 minutes. After lunch and some downtime for hobbies like baking, graphic design, reading, or spending time with her four pets, she returns for an afternoon session lasting up to two hours.
This disciplined approach has helped her combat pre-competition nervousness. Unlike her first competition at age nine where she “cried before and after the match,” Crevar now views competing as just “another match with a new person” in her division.
“As I started competing more often, maybe around 12 years old, I started competing every month. And around 15, I started competing more often, like two or three times per month,” she explained. “I think that has helped me to lower the nervousness before matches.”
Future Plans
While competition remains her primary focus, Crevar already envisions a future that includes teaching and running her own academy. She currently enjoys conducting seminars and creating instructionals between competitions.
Her upcoming schedule includes Who’s Number One, IBJJF Worlds, and a team tournament for Polaris where she’ll serve as team captain for North America against Europe.
“For young girls looking to follow in her footsteps, Crevar offers straightforward advice: ‘Keep training hard and try to compete as much as possible because that’s where you get the most experience from… try to find your style and then kind of try to improve around that so you can have a well-rounded game.'”
With supportive parents who relocated to help pursue her dreams and the mentorship of some of jiu-jitsu’s greatest minds, Helena Crevar continues to elevate women’s jiu-jitsu while inspiring the next generation of practitioners.
