A 10-year-old girl from Calgary has won 17 medals in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Isla Sobrejana Diesmos competes against both girls and boys…and she beats them both.
But it wasn’t always so easy for the 10-year-old. Isla said she felt awkward the first day she walked into the gym and stepped up onto the mats. In fact she felt what CBC News described as “a terrifying compulsion to flee.”
However, according to her instructor, Alex Roque — the owner of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Fight Club in Calgary — she quickly transformed.
“When she first came, she was very shy, very quiet,” Alex said. “It was difficult to get to know her. But beneath that meek exterior, Isla had remarkable natural instincts for the sport.”
Those instincts paid off quickly. Less than six months after her first class, she won her first gold medal. In less than three years, she has earned 25 medals: 17 gold and 8 silver.
Isla got involved in Brazilian jiu-jitsu because she was getting bullied.
“Before, people were rude to me at school and pushed me around. So my dad decided to put me in jiu-jitsu,” she told CBC News.
However, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has taught her confidence.
Isla also says she’s in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for the long haul.
“I’m going to do this until I’m a red belt,” she said.
Considering red belt is well over 50 years away for her, she had better get comfortable on the mats.
Of course, she looks pretty comfortable already.
