A local athlete competing in the world championships of Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappled her way to greatness — a bronze medal — all while training out a small school in Arlington, Virginia.
Beatrice Jin has been grappling at the Kogaion Academy for over five years.
“Every time you think that you’re getting good, someone’s just going to beat you up, and you’re gonna realize that there’s more,” Jin told WTOP after a noon training.
Most of the time Jin is training in the one-room studio against folks who use Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a hobby and way to get in shape, but who are more focused on their 9-5 jobs.
“My training partners are graduate students, one works for tech, one works for government contracts,” Jin said.
But she took that training all the way to the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championship in Anaheim, California, last week to take the bronze in her weight division for brown belt competitors.
The IBJJ world championships are equivalent to the Olympics of the sport, Jin said.
The gym’s owner Victor Ciocoiu told WTOP it is rare to see a medalist from a small school.
“It requires a lot of qualities, not only physical qualities, but mental qualities,” said Ciocoiu. “It requires grit, someone who wants to compete internationally, and at that high level, you need to be very determined, very motivated.”
Many other larger schools, such as those found in California, Texas and Brazil, offer special training, nutritionists and have students that have been training since they were young kids.
But still with her twice a day workouts of drills, sparring, weightlifting and cardio, Jin was able to climb to the top. She medaled in several other BJJ “Grand Slam” tournaments this year as well.
“I really feel like it’s one of those projects in life that just like keeps offering more, the more you put into it,” Jin said.
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When Jin hits the mat she tries to go for an early submission but acknowledges, at this level, it is a much more strategic eight-minute bout.
“I think like the perfect sequence is you sweep them for two points, pass for three points, knee on belly mount. And then take their back,” she said about her strategy.
“The goal of the game is to have positional dominance over your opponents,” and then try to go for a submission by locking a limb or applying a choke, she said.
Jin said her favorite submission at the moment is the kneebar, a move that applies pressure to the knee that either requires the opponent to tap or hyperextend and break their leg. She is also a fan of the armbar.
“Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a very individual sport, even if your school has a curriculum, you’re gonna find your own style,” she said.
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