From Cork, Ireland, Rosa Walsh has become one of Europe’s most recognizable names on the competitive jiu-jitsu circuits and for the past several years has lived every athlete’s dream: travel the world doing her passion.

A long time multi-sport athlete, Rosa grew up actively competing. At the provincial level in Ireland, she played basketball, rugby and GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association, which promotes indigenous Gaelic games such as hurling, Gaelic football, camogie and Gaelic handball). She was even a national-level boxer and has a 4-0 amateur record in the bantamweight division. 

In 2021, Rosa decided to take a break from her career as a secondary school teacher to pursue jiu-jitsu full-time. At the time, she was quickly gaining a reputation as an up-and-coming talent and she was determined to become a trailblazer for Irish jiu-jitsu. It was now or never. After competing every weekend for eight straight weeks, she left Ireland in 2022 to embark on a journey of a lifetime. For three years, she traveled all over the world, training at some of the top academies in the world, competing at some of the biggest events – including IBJJF, AJP, ADCC, WNO and Polaris – and teaching seminars wherever she went. 

The highlight of Rosa’s career, though, occurred in 2022 at the ADCC Open in Las Vegas when she was still a brown belt. Completely in the zone, she secured submission wins in all three of her matches, including a savage armbar against veteran black belt Nathalie Ribeiro in under a minute. “I got to represent a gym that I loved and I was just in the most positive mindset and environment, surrounded by my friends. It was the closest I’ve ever come to perfect.” 

Now a black belt, and back in Ireland, Rosa continues to travel extensively to compete and teach. Her signature style includes aggressive wrestling, relentless passing, and ruthless submission hunting, particularly for armbars from any number of positions. She credits her background in rugby for having helped mold her game: “I used to play rugby, so when I started I instantly took to passing and the stand up game. I kept at it, eventually fine-tuning it into my signature.” A calm, focused athlete, she defines a champion mindset as “not allowing external factors harm your internal beliefs.”