Woman used Brazilian jiu-jitsu to fight off man who allegedly punched her in Dublin

A Brazilian woman who used jiu-jitsu to fight off a man she claimed punched her in Dublin city centre on Sunday says she has been asked to teach martial arts by several gyms since the alleged incident.Janaína Mota, who works as a delivery rider for apps such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo, was cycling along Wexford Street at about 3am on Sunday when the alleged assault occurred.As she was nearing the end of her work on Sunday, the 33-year-old, who moved to Dublin from Brazil about two months ago, claimed she encountered a “drunk” man who was standing in the cycle lane.After she sounded her horn at him, Mota claimed he became “very aggressive”, swore at her and called her a “b*tch”.READ MOREShe claimed he then approached her and punched her in the face, alleging it was a “very strong” punch.“He saw that I was a girl. I wasn’t using anything to cover my head,” she said, adding this was “extra shocking”.An Garda Síochána said in response to queries about the incident: “Gardaí responded to reports of an assault at Wexford Street, Dublin 8 in the early hours of Sunday, 8th November 2026. “No injuries were reported. Enquiries are ongoing.”Food delivery workers working for takeaway companies such as Deliveroo have spoken out publicly and protested in recent years at the number of violent attacks they have suffered. Mota has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the second-highest rank in the martial art.Recalling tasting blood after the alleged punch on Sunday morning, Mota claimed the man made further attempts to punch her.However, she dodged these attempts before she grabbed him, took him to the ground and restrained him.A video of the incident was posted online, with more than 70 women signing up to become her students after seeing footage of the jiu-jitsu skills she used.Screengrabs from a video posted online show Janaína Mota defending herself during the incident. She said the alleged assault was the first “direct confrontation” she had experienced, though she said she had suffered previous attempts of sexual assault in Brazil, during which she “froze” initially before using self-defence.“The first thought I had when he punched me was the [fear] of freezing again,” she said, though there were “a lot of people” nearby and so was “100 per cent focused on defending myself”.She said the man, who appeared to be aged in his early 20s, subsequently apologised several times. After releasing him, she said his friends took him away.Mota said she reported the incident to gardaí on patrol in Dublin city centre on Wednesday.She first learning jiu-jitsu about 12 years ago and stopped for several years before she took it up again after becoming a victim of violence. Janaína Mota: 'More than 70 women have registered to become my students.' Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times “That was the reason that I came back to jiu-jitsu and I never stopped it again,” she said. She was first introduced to martial arts at the age of six when she began learning capoeira in Brazil.Originally from Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, Mota now lives in Finglas, north Dublin. She shares a house with eight other international residents, including Chileans, Spaniards and Mexicans.She has been working as a delivery rider while studying English at IBAT Dublin.“Immigrating is not easy. There are so many challenges, and then something like this happens on top of everything else,” she said.The alleged assault has prompted an unexpected response. An onlooker recorded the incident and posted a clip on social media, which has since amassed more than one million views, she said.Since then, six martial arts gyms in Dublin have contacted her asking if she would teach classes. Mota has also created an online form to gauge interest among women in self-defence lessons.“More than 70 women have registered to become my students,” she said.“Every day, women suffer any type of violence and we shouldn’t be passive about it.”