Four-time world champion Dominyka Obelenyte's life has been a whirlwind these last two years. As she's discovered, balancing full-time college with a professional jiu-jitsu career is no easy task.

Things were compounded by shoulder surgery and a switch in teams. Dominyka isn't through with the changes just yet though, and she just announced she will now be training out of Mushin, an MMA and jiu-jitsu academy in Mantahhan, New York, headed up by Renzo Gracie black belt Erik Owings. 

We caught up with Dominyka to find out how things are going and what led to the most recent changes in her life. 

FloGrappling: OK, first things first, so you've been off the competition scene for a while because of school and stuff. How's that going? 

Dominyka: I've been out of competition mostly to nurse my shoulder back to health post-surgery, and it's definitely been tough. The road to recovery has been rocky, and I still do not feel one hundred percent healed or even able to train at 100 percent capacity. It will also be my last year at Columbia University, and I'll be taking seven classes next semester, so I don't see as much time available for heavy and intense training as I did before.

You had to skip Worlds because of the shoulder injury but still went along to watch. How's the recovery been going, and what did you think of the women's divisions this year? 

The recovery has been slow, and it was tough to sit in the bleachers and watch without stepping onto the mats themselves. It takes a lot of discipline not to over-stress the body and re-injure yourself simply to satisfy that craving jiu-jitsu gives us. 

I was, however, extremely impressed and amazed with the outcomes of the black belt women's divisions this year. The progress of women's jiu-jitsu is as clear as day. After watching some of those finals matches, I got pretty teary-eyed just thinking about how far the techniques have come and how much closer women jiu-jitsu athletes are to getting the respect we deserve.

It seems like you're setting yourself up for a comeback to jiu-jitsu -- you're teaching, hustling seminars, and so on. How long before we see you competing again? 

I honestly cannot give you a good timeline for when I'll be back to competing. My health is the utmost priority at the moment and will stay that way until I feel comfortable enough to immerse myself in hard training again. I've been focusing more on becoming a thorough and clear instructor, as this year I came to the conclusion that teaching and watching others progress in the sport is very gratifying. I'm focused more on my students and their improvement now than I am on coming back to competition as quickly as possible.


Dominyka in action. ​Photo: Nico Ball 

The big news is that you'll be training primarily at Team Mushin now, which is headed up by Erik Owings. Can you explain the circumstances behind moving across from Jiu-Jitsu For The People? 

I've known Erik for quite some time now, and I've always admired the way he and his other instructors approach jiu-jitsu and run the program at Mushin. Unfortunately, after training and instructing for a bit at Jiu-Jitsu For The People, myself and the owner had a difference in ideologies, did not see eye-to-eye on certain subjects, and decided it would be best for us to part ways. 

I feel as though I was being underutilized as an instructor and felt hindered in my capacity to grow. In all honesty, I simply prefer Erik Owings' approach to business ethics and jiu-jitsu.

So, what's next? What projects are you working on? 

I'm really excited to debut a women's only camp organization called Rag Doll Camps. Our goal is to promote inclusivity and mental and physical wellness through grappling. We hope to continue expanding our camps and run them all across the United States!