Four-time IBJJF World Champion Dominyka Obelenyte revealed her struggles with an ongoing battle depression and disenchantment with jiu-jitsu in a heartfelt message on her social media. 

The two-time super-heavyweight and two-time absolute World champion (2015 & 2016) has been noticeably absent from the competition scene, making only one IBJJF tournament appearance in all of 2017. 

Posting on her Instagram account, she opened up about her feelings and affirmed that with the help and advice of the likes of JT Torres she is rediscovering her love for the sport. 

"I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for following and supporting me on this giant life journey. I’ve always struggled with how I perceive jiu-jitsu, sometimes it can be my greatest enemy and sometimes my greatest relief. 

"Not many of you know this, but for most of my life I’ve struggled with depression, and four years after starting BJJ I was at a breaking point. I wanted nothing to do with the sport and was ready to quit and never look back. 

"Encouragement from a few choice people (especially JT Torres) made me stick it through, and I was rewarded with a road of challenges, victories, losses, injuries, heartbreak, motivation, perseverance and a true sense of self. 

"My greatest joy right now is sharing this art and lifestyle with others in the hopes that they will have those same experiences or greater. The road has been tough, I’m sometimes angered by how the sport has been moving away from the virtue of respect to showboating and drama, and sometimes I’m frustrated with how quickly the body can collapse due to stress and overwork. 

"All that being said, I wouldn’t trade this path for anything else, and for anyone feeling discouraged with their place in this little realm, know that you are not alone, and whatever you set out to do, you will find it, just give it some time and effort."

Following her post, we reached out to the black belt to find out more about where she's at in terms of her health - both mental and physical. 

"I’m working on getting back into competitive training mode, but I’m looking more towards doing superfights towards the future, and that’s because I’ve become so disillusioned with a lot of the major tournaments in the scene," said Obelenyte. 

Obelenyte said that the grind of months-long training camps and risk of injury are factors in her feelings as are the nature of open tournaments, and she's actively looking to direct her career more toward superfights. 

"You have to pay to register for these tournaments, have upwards of five matches within an hour-long period and inevitably are forgotten if you don’t make it to the finals or don’t have an exciting match. It’s a system that rewards only few and doesn’t give any monetary payout aside from sponsors and such. 

"At my level, it’s seemed more and more clear that the effort doesn’t always satisfy the result, and if I put in the same effort into superfights, I know I can simultaneously allow my body to heal, continue teaching, and actually earn money doing the sport I love."