JiuJitsu Val

Meet JiuJitsu Val

A nine year old with a whole lot of heart.

This is the story of my daughter's journey to and from the Jiu-Jitsu mats.

In July of 2015 Valentina(Val) joined Tiger Martial Arts Academy(TMAA) located in South Gate, California. Val was initially excited in learning TaeKwonDo, which in Korean means "The way of the the hands and feet". TMAA teaches both TaeKwonDo and Jiu-Jitsu, so I enrolled Val for both classes.

She studies Jiu-Jitsu an hour a day three days a week and studies Tae Kwon Do an hour a day two days a week, then Fridays she has a one hour fitness class. Typically other Jiu-Jitsu athletes only focus on one martial art and usually train four or five days per week. The main goal for my daughter Val learning mixed martial arts is for real life self defense scenarios against bullies should she ever have an encounter. Martial Arts will enable her to be able to protect herself.

At first she was intimidated by the technicalities in submissions and once told me she liked TaeKwonDo more than Jiu-Jitsu, but after a few weeks of adaptation and applying what she was learning Val has embraced the art of Jui-Jitsu with a passion. She says she now likes Jiu-Jitsu more than TaeKwonDo, so much so that she is always asking me to sign her up to all the tournaments. She likes to roll with other Jiu-Jitsu athletes to test her own skills rather than with her usual dojo Jiu-Jitsu peers whom she has gotten accustom to and learned their fighting styles.

Last year in November, Val attended her first Jiu-Jitsu tournament the 2015 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship with the Sports Jiu-Jitsu International Federation (SJJIF), where she placed 3rd in the No Gi tournament and placed 2nd in the Gi tournament in the white belt featherweight division.

Val's Sensei, Omar Aviles Sr., is always there to coach her through each match.
Occasionally Sensei Omar will raise his voice so Val can hear over all the cheering of the crowd from the side lines, the placement announcements over the gymnasium's speakers and the whistle blows from referees on other mats, all while maintaining focus on the match.

No Gi and Gi Tournamets

A No Gi consists of the athletes uniform be a rash-guard top and shorts, Gi is when they are required to wear the traditional Kimono or more commonly known as a Gi among the Jiu-Jitsu community.

Since then Val has been competing in various Jiu-Jitsu tournaments from California to Nevada, with SJJIF and NABJJF like:

All Americas Jiu Jitsu Tournament
Los Angeles International Jiu Jitsu Open
Lone Star State Jiu Jitsu Championship
North American BJJ Gi & NoGi Tournament
& NABJJF Nationals

Go to W3Schools!

and with different federations like Dream Jiu-Jitsu & Jiu-Jitsu World League

One the the best tournaments is Jiu-Jitsu World League

The Los Angeles Super Championship was Val's first tournament with JJWL which was held at the Azuza Pacific University in the county of Los Angeles, CA. She got overwhelmed with excitement in the picture below as soon as she glimpsed over onto the tournament mats. I must say JJWL does an excellent job with the way the whole experience is set up, from the spectators seating arrangement, scoring and the safety of the young Jiu-Jitsu athletes.

This is Val's profile with the Jiu-Jitsu World League

Envisioning the Win

Val has gone full circle competing from tournament to tournament averaging about a tournament per month. She has won by points, lost by points, won by submission and lost by submission. She has had her elbow hyperextended about 3 times by successful arm bars, luckily with no severe injuries so far, although she has walked off the mats injured, in tears, and with her ego in pieces but every single time she says “there is only winning and learning”.

She is tiny for her age (she takes that from her mother) and not much on strength so she has adapted with being very technical and precise in her techniques. In the video below which was put together by YouTube channel Roll On Film where you can see various Jiu-Jitsu highlights from the 2015 Worlds Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Val only appears for a few seconds at minute 1:31 but is at the moment only waiting for her turn to roll.

As a father it is difficult and nerve racking to see my daughter participate in a sport where she can get hurt, but she never ceases to amaze me with her passion for the sport even after a loss in a match. Whether she walks off victorious or in tears, she’s quick to say she's learned from it and is ready to go back to the dojo for more training in order to come out on top next time.