Valerie Plump is one of the founding partners of Got Your Back Self Defense. She is also a wife, a stay-at-home mom to 2 girls (13 and 11), a homeschooling mom, a stepmom to 2 more girls who are now 29 and 27, and a grandmother to her 3- and 1-year old grandsons. Aside from loving to spend time with her family and friends and traveling, Valerie has always had a passion for fitness and is a certified personal trainer.

Upon meeting a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor in a fitness class at a local gym, Valerie summoned up the courage to walk into Riptide BJJ to try out her first Jiu Jitsu class in 2016. Taking the step inside those doors was incredibly difficult and intimidating, however it turned out to be one of the best decisions that she had ever made, aside from the decisions to become wife and mom of course. 

After training for a few months among many men, and one other woman, Valerie decided to try out the sport aspect of BJJ and stepped onto the competition mats for the first time. In the nearly 8 years that Valerie has been training, she has tested her skills at many Jiu Jitsu competitions across the nation. From Philly to Las Vegas, New York City to Orlando, and many places in between, Valerie has won gold, silver, and bronze medals at numerous Jiu Jitsu Tournaments.  Amongst these accolades, she most recently competed at the IBJJF Master Worlds Championship in Las Vegas and brought home a bronze medal after tough matches in a 20-person bracket consisting of high-level athletes from around the world.

In the past couple years, Valerie has changed her focus from competing, although she still does, to the desire to coach. Specifically, women and teens.  There is, unfortunately, a high demand for these 2 groups to have self-defense training. However, from years of watching who did or didn’t come into her Jiu Jitsu school, she realized that there is a lack of places with women specific training options available that women actually feel comfortable walking into. And thus began the idea that formed into Got Your Back Self Defense.