Christina Chavez – A Jiujitsu Champ!
Congratulations to Christina Chavez, a junior in the class of 2023, for winning 2nd place, earning her a silver medal in her weight class and as a white belt in the Brazilian Jiujitsu State Championship! Christina is also a part of the Girls’ Wrestling Team here at ACP High School. Way to go, Christina! Today, we’ll be interviewing her to talk about her experience at the State Championship, so let’s see what she has to say!Q: How long have you been practicing Jiujitsu? What inspired or motivated you to practice it, and then continue later in your life onto State Championships?
A: I have been doing Jiujitsu for about a year now. I started in karate where I spent ten years learning that martial art. Sadly, the instructor decided to close the studio and referred us to taekwondo. I trained at taekwondo for about a year, but I never truly liked it. My original karate instructor had a connection with a Jiujitsu studio, so I decided to give it a try. I love learning and studying this type of martial arts, and I’m amazed at how there are many different aspects to the sport. For a while, I didn’t plan on competing at the State Championship because I thought I wasn’t ready. My instructors gave me many positive lectures on why I should compete and why they think I am ready for it.
Q: How did you feel about going to the state championship and were you impressed that you to got 2nd? Was this something you looked forward to?
A: I was pretty excited to go to the State Championship. Wrestling and Jiujitsu both correlate with each other so I knew I already had some background experience with competing in front of hundreds of people. During the matches, I only focused on doing what I was taught not about how scared I was or who was watching. I was mostly excited to compete with my team and watch everyone else succeed as well. As a whole, my Jiujitsu studio placed 16th out of the 80 schools competing.
Q: Could you explain to us the history behind Brazilian Jiujitsu and how the belts are organized? As well as the requirements needed to reach the highest belt?
A: Jiujitsu originated in Japan and was brought over to Brazil about 100 years ago. The technique was refined in Brazil and that’s where the sport comes from. It was later brought to the US in 1990s. There are five belts: white, blue, purple, brown, and black. There are four stripes to each belt and on average it takes six months to get one stripe.
Q: Are there any other sports or activities that you like to do? What do you like to do in your free time?
A: Besides practicing Jiujitsu, I love to wrestle. It is very exciting that the girls’ wrestling team is growing and more girls are interested in wrestling.
Q: What’s something that you are looking forward to five years from now?
A: I am looking forward to competing more for fun when I am in college. Jiujitsu is constantly becoming more technical and strategic, so I am excited to learn all the new skill in the future.
Way to go Christina for following in her passion for both wrestling and now, Jiujitsu! We can’t wait to see what she has in store for us as a junior and an athlete at our school! Go Knights!
