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Deftac founder Alvin Aguilar (center, in yellow) and the rest of the competitors pose during the awarding ceremony of the Marianas Pro Manila Jiu-jitsu Championships at the Filinvest Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City over the weekend.
MANILA, Philippines — Make no mistake about it, jiu-jitsu is gaining headway as one of the most popular sports in the world today.
A personality known for his patronage of jiu-jitsu in Guam will attest to this.
“With the sport growing, going bigger, jiu-jitsu has just formulated into a world-renowned sport and the thing about it is that Guam is also growing out the sport’s popularity,” declared Steve Shimizu, President of Marianas Open International and sports tourism in Guam.
Shimizu saw firsthand the combat sports’ increasing popularity in the Philippines.
Two girls battle it out in the Marianas Pro Manila Jiu-jitsu Championships.
“Most importantly, (jiujitsu) it has grown on popularity among Filipinos as well as the Guamanians who love to compete here,” the Guam visitor said.
Shimizu also had kind words for the Filipino jiu-jitsu athletes, whom he considers as one of the toughest.
“One of the awesome things about the Philippines is its athletes who are very well tact, very renowned, and I competed alongside with them in Japan, in Philippines and I tell you they are tough, and (that’s) the reason why we're here,” he continued.
Shimizu had come to town to grace a jiu-jitsu Marianas Pro Manila tournament in Alabang, which came to a close last Sunday, April 6.
He also lauded the tournament organized by Asian Sport Jiu-Jitsu Federation (ASJJF) led by its Manila president Alvin Lee, and Edison Kagohara, the ASJJF overall president of Asia.
“Our partners here, Alvin Lee, put up a great event. He (Lee) has some great experiences, and all of us too,” said Shimizu, who expressed optimism on bridging the gap between Filipino and Guam jiu-jitsu competitors.
Shimizu is hoping more Filipino athletes would compete in the Marianas Pro Taiwan from April 26-27, and the Marianas Open International on October 18 in Guam for the grand finale, which stakes a prize pool of $50,000.
Xander Lee Darmawan of Deftac (middle) ruled the Kid 4 gray belt middleweight gold medal in the Gi Division of Marianas Pro Manila Jiu-jitsu Championships at the Filinvest Alabang. The second-placer is Germar Louise of Checkmat Philippines and at third is Humby Harvey of Deftac Ribeiro.
