Ivanka Trump takes her fitness very seriously. In new Instagram stories, Ivanka loves to share some of her hobbies, which include all manner of physical exercise, like surfing and other water sports. An activity she's taken up since her move to Miami is Jiu-Jitsu, a Japanese form of self-defense.
Ivanka has been training with the Valente Brothers, a Jiu-Jitsu academy that is beloved by many practitioners and run by Gisele Bündchen's boyfriend, Joaquim, and his brother, Gui.
In one of her Instagram stories, Ivanka shared a photo of herself taking down her sparring partner, Gui. The photo shows her wearing her white Gi as she takes down Valente, holding his body up in the air. She added a crying laughing emoji and tagged him on the post, likely referencing the funny face he's making as he's taken down to the mat.
Why Ivanka began practicing jiu-jitsu
While Ivanka has long been a practitioner of sports, her personal connection to jiu-jitsu is a personal one. In an appearance on The Skinny Confidential podcast, Ivanka revealed that it was her daughter Arabella who brought up the idea of self-defense classes.
"My daughter Arabella came to me and said, 'As a woman, I feel like I need to know how to defend myself. And I don't have a confidence level yet that I can do that. Can you sign me up for a self-defense class?' My jaw just hit the ground," said Ivanka.
She revealed that she did research and asked around, landing on the Valente Brothers as their best option. Arabella's interest in self-defense resulted in Ivanka signing up, and then her sons, Theo and Joseph, and her husband, Jared.
"It's almost like a moving meditation," said Ivanka. "Because the movements are so micro. It's like three-dimensional chess. And now it's funny, like I'll watch Ultimate Fighting," she said with a laugh.