Raising a winner: Youngest Filipino jiu-jitsu world champ is only 7
At 6, Aielle Aguilar became the youngest Filipino two-time jiu-jitsu world champion. Even if Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is not in the Olympics, she may get to participate anyway in another sport she excels in: gymnastics. Now 7 years old, Aielle won three gold medals and one bronze medal in her first gymnastics competition.
No surprise, as she comes from a family of winners. Her mom Maybelline Masuda is the first Filipino BJJ world champion, the first Filipino Asian Beach Games champion, and the first Filipina BJJ black belt. Aielle’s dad Alvin Aguilar is the father of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the Philippines, the founder of the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), and the first BJJ black belt in Southeast Asia.
At 2 weeks old, Aielle was already on the mat. She started training at 2 years old. “We made it all games so she always had fun,” said Alvin. “She trains every day. She goes to two training sessions after school with her Deftac HQ teammates.”
How do her parents handle days when she doesn’t want to train? “We’re lucky she always looks forward to training,” he said. During one TV interview, Aielle interrupted to ask when she could begin training.
But the little phenom does have other interests. Aside from BJJ and gymnastics, she likes to draw. “She didn’t like ballet, but she also plays the keyboards as she does lessons, does Kumon, and plays with her friends,” explained her dad.
Off the mats, Alvin said that his daughter is “very good and always takes care, but messes with May and me. She also always plays with the baby sister she prayed for.”
Inner fortitude
Despite her incredibly active lifestyle, Aielle has never been injured. “We always watch the kids well. If they get hurt, we just deal with it but do not coddle her too much. Part of life is having the inner fortitude to get through things that put you at a disadvantage. With the boys, we tell them to shake it off,” her father said, laughing.
Aielle has three older brothers, Liam, Lukie, and Lucho. Does Alvin adjust his parenting style with his boys? “Just the same, actually, but the boys aren’t allowed to complain too much as we are raising them to be strong men who can control their emotions and be real protectors and providers for their families,” he said.
Like Aielle, Lukie excels at multiple sports, such as jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and football, and has brought home several medals from international tournaments.
Meanwhile, Alvin’s youngest son Lucho focuses on BJJ. For three years, he has been competing in the adult blue belt division, while still a teen. “Over the last two years, he’s risen to the challenge and become a champion at the adult level multiple times,” Alvin said proudly.
He shared a video of Lucho’s final match a few weeks ago where, in the middle of the intense competition, Lucho asked for permission to sleep over at his friend’s house. “Focus! Submit him, then you can go!” his dad yelled back. Lucho did as he was told and won.
Kids will be kids
From his experience, what does it take to be a world champion? “Becoming a real champion requires you to work hard and sacrifice always to make yourself better. There are no excuses for not doing well, as you’re in charge of your performance. So always work to make your body and mind perform at maximum level. There is no second place, as that means you lost.”
What kind of person would excel at BJJ? “Jiu-jitsu works for anyone and everyone, and we can see that in their styles of play,” he said. “I’m very familiar with several martial arts, as I have immersed myself in a lot. All that matters is a good mind and heart. For instance, one of our students, Joaquin Marte, is a taekwondo, wrestling, grappling, and MMA champion at the highest levels. In grappling, he’s a world medalist. We have many students like him at Deftac.”
Alvin is the founder of Deftac, Asia’s largest BJJ team with the most homegrown black belts in Southeast Asia. With 37 gyms nationwide, in the last 30 years, Deftac has produced the most champions in Asia.
Aielle is fortunate to have the support of her family and teammates. She can be another Bea Lucero, who excelled at gymnastics before transitioning to taekwondo and brought home an Olympic bronze medal. She may not realize it yet, but Aielle is enjoying her extraordinary childhood.
