{"id":323,"date":"2025-04-06T09:04:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T09:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/?p=323"},"modified":"2025-05-05T12:55:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T12:55:26","slug":"my-jiu-jitsu-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/2025\/04\/06\/my-jiu-jitsu-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"My Jiu &#8211; Jitsu journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I started my Jiu-Jitsu journey in November 2020 when I was in kindergarten. Back then, I had no idea what I was doing, no skills, and I was a bit shy. As a white belt, I was at the very beginning, just like everyone else. It was tough because I struggled with confidence and often felt nervous. But after two and a half months, I finally earned my first stripe, and that made me proud!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"202\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-348\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>After a whole year of training, I finally got to compete in an SJJA competition! I was surprisingly calm\u2014just ready to jump in and fight. I had four matches and, guess what? I won them all, bringing home my very first gold medal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My first opponent was BB, a full grey belt. He was pretty tough, but I managed to take him down. Next up was AL, another white belt like me. He put up a good fight, but I squeaked by with a win thanks to the judges\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During my third match, I faced LK. I felt a little bad because I caught him in a triangle choke, and he had a hard time breathing. But the last match was against GO, my friend from the gym. I won, but honestly, I didn&#8217;t care much about the victory since he\u2019s my buddy. It was an amazing experience overall!&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"890\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-349\" style=\"width:282px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2.png 668w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2-225x300.png 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"890\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20221204_112723-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20221204_112723-1.jpg 668w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20221204_112723-1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My dad always told me to be strong and confident. I realised that being good at Jiu-Jitsu isn\u2019t just about training\u2014it\u2019s also about having a strong heart and mind. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything\u2014sports, exams, anything! That\u2019s like a superpower.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"890\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20221204_113616.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20221204_113616.jpg 668w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20221204_113616-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>My next competition was the state cup. This time, I was nervous because my first opponent, AAM, was from Iraq and super tough. But I beat him by 4 points! My next opponent, HM, was easier, but still good. He got 4 points, and I got 8. Then I fought DS, who wasn\u2019t that hard, but I was already so tired from fighting AAM. DS ended up beating me, and I won a bronze medal. (April 30, 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Winter Cup, my first opponent was AP, a grey belt. Then I fought AS, a friend from another gym. He was nice. In my third match, I beat ZB by advantage, but he didn\u2019t want to be friends after, maybe because he was mad he lost. My final opponent was AAM again. This time, he beat me in 12 seconds with a submission! We shook hands, and I won silver while he took gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the 2023 SJJA Cup, my first opponent was KZ. He wasn\u2019t easy, but I beat him with a submission. He cried, so I helped him up, and he felt better. My next opponent, AR, was huge\u2014145cm tall, while I was only 132cm! But my dad always told me that strength doesn\u2019t always win, so I used my technique and beat him 4-2. I won another gold medal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Summer Cup, I lost my first match to TZ. I felt dumb for not trying hard enough. It was probably the only time I felt bad cause professor was there and I didn&#8217;t listen when he said do a double leg. After that time I practiced my take downs all the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the Sydney Championship, I beat HT by submission. But against AW, the fight was unfair. When I took his back, they didn\u2019t count my points, but when he did a takedown, they gave him points. But this happens sometimes so there is nothing I can do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Autumn Cup, I beat OS by points. But my next opponent, AJ, was amazing. He submitted me in one minute! He had been training in Jiu-Jitsu for five years, which was impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"890\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20230430_110045.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20230430_110045.jpg 668w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20230430_110045-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>At the 2024 State Cup, I beat KD by submission and won my next match against NK by advantage. NK was my friend\u2014we had met in a fun sparring corner. But then, of course, AAM showed up again and beat me the same way. I didn\u2019t care too much because I still got a silver medal, but I was annoyed he submitted me again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On November 3, 2024, I entered the SJJA Cup again. I saw my friends competing, and at 9:30 AM, I felt nervous because my first opponent, AG it was a tough fight but I won! My next opponent was CF. One of my coaches said he was the best fighter in his gym, so I got nervous. But I told myself, \u201cI can do it!\u201d and won by advantage. He was the hardest opponent I ever fought\u2014besides AAM. 0-0 1 advantage<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"666\" height=\"890\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20230820_105633012_PORTRAIT.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20230820_105633012_PORTRAIT.jpg 666w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20230820_105633012_PORTRAIT-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 666px) 100vw, 666px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>My last competition in Australia was my first time competing in both GI and no-GI. In GI, I lost my first match because the ref made a bad call when MT tried to armbar me. My arm wasnt even bent, I was still holding it to stop the armbar, I have been in worse armbars in my gym and they stop the fight. Even my parents thought it was to short and they should let me fight it a bit. In no-gi, I won my first match against TP by decision. Then I faced MT again and lost, but this time, I fought way better. I double-legged him, got into his guard, and defended myself well before he finally caught me in an armbar. This armbar was proper.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"771\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG20250330122105-1024x771.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG20250330122105-1024x771.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG20250330122105-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG20250330122105-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG20250330122105-1536x1157.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG20250330122105-2048x1542.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Looking back, I\u2019ve come a long way. I started as a shy white belt with no skills, but now I\u2019m stronger, more confident, and have won multiple medals. My dad and mum was right\u2014 to put me in Jiu-Jitsu cause its part of what I do daily now. Now I believe in myself and I never give up in anything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you! Coach Benji, Coach Jamie, Professor George and Coach Susan and other coaches for your support, I would not have\u00a0enjoyed jiu-jitsu as much as I do without your coaching support. Hopefully, I will be stronger and tougher and more skilful when I come back to Australia one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"771\" data-id=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-29-at-23.09.07_7991f5d0-1024x771.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-29-at-23.09.07_7991f5d0-1024x771.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-29-at-23.09.07_7991f5d0-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-29-at-23.09.07_7991f5d0-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-29-at-23.09.07_7991f5d0-1536x1156.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-29-at-23.09.07_7991f5d0.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I am now in a new gym because I moved overseas, this is a picture from my new gym , i also do muay thai but my dad said its just to excercise so I wont get tired easy, he wont allow me to get punched in the head, hopefully the new gym is good but so far I like it <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym2.jpg 1599w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym1-1-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-391\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym1-1-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym1-1-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym1-1-768x1366.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym1-1-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gym1-1.jpg 899w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I started my Jiu-Jitsu journey in November 2020 when I was in kindergarten. Back then, I had no idea what I was doing, no skills, and I was a bit shy. As a white belt, I was at the very beginning, just like everyone else. It was tough because I struggled with confidence and often [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":393,"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions\/393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvaro.cool\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}