WOMEN in their 30s might think getting into a new sport at this point in their lives is a bit too late.
But not for Mary Glo Villacastin and Mechelle Zapanta of Atos Philippines Cebu.
The two not only took up a new sport but took one that is a complete opposite of what they are accustomed to. The two yoga teachers have just become Brazilian jiujitsu fighters.
Or as Villacastin quips, jiujititas.
“We are juijititas because we are in our 30s,” said Villacastin.
“When we hit the 30s, we have the notion that we are too old to be trying something new. But I would like to debunk that notion,” said Villacastin, a mother of a nine-year-old daughter.
Villacastin, who is also a dive master, said that age should not be a hindrance to achieve anything in life.
On the yoga mat, these yoga teachers are the perfect epitome of calm, peace and love, leading their students into a place of peace and fitness, often ending each class with the mantra or reminder to always have peace of mind, to speak kind words, and to have love in their hearts.
On the jiujitsu mat, however, they turn into warriors trying to choke the living daylights out of their opponents.
The other week, the duo competed in their very first jiujitsu tournament, the Philippine Jiujitsu International Novice Championship at the SM Mall of Asia, and came home with impressive finishes in their weight divisions: Zapanta winning in her weight class and Villacastin finishing third.
Although they weren’t expecting to come home with medals, having had zero experience in competing, they nevertheless trained hard with the goal to win in mind.
“It is important for women to be empowered to do anything they want and achieve anything they want. Do not do let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do,” she added.
New experience
And do what she deemed impossible was what she did as she packed her bags and with Zapanta and another teammate flew to Manila to join their first tournament together.
“I have zero competitive streak in me. The idea of competing is quite terrifying. But months before, I decided to compete and I stuck to that goal and pushed myself. I was in for a ride: the training, the mental preparation was intense not to mention having to juggle that with the responsibilities of being a single mom. I did not really feel ready to compete yet. I hesitated but decided in the end to suck it up,” said Villacastin.
Aesthetically, yoga and jiujitsu are the complete opposite—calm vs. intense. Do no harm vs. choke your opponent until she taps out.
But for Zapanta, she found out that having an extensive yoga experience was helpful when she shifted to a more physical sport.
“People think that jiujitsu is all violent. But just like yoga, the calm breath and focus will actually help you perform better. They are very similar. My personal yoga practice (power yoga) is also quite intense so I was ready for the physicality of jiujitsu. Mentally, jiujitsu requires you to be both calm and aggressive. It is easy being calm but it was a challenge for me to be aggressive because of how yoga discourages harm (ahmisa),” said Zapanta, who added that she even finds herself moving her opponents’ hair out of their faces so she doesn’t accidentally pull on them when she attacks them.
Hurt egos
Villacastin said that yoga teaches one awareness of the breath and that surprisingly these two totally different arts complement each other.
“Jiujitsu does hurt a lot: in the body and the ego if there is anything left after you’ve tapped out so many times. But they complement each other. While it is all about technique, hard sparring or the killer drills, warm-ups and all, it all goes back to awareness. Awareness of the breath and being able to respond rather than to react,” Villacastin added.
But the duo, who regularly train with Team Atos, also wish to see more women get into Brazilian jiujitsu no matter their age or their level of physical fitness.
“One of the biggest things that brings many people back to jiujitsu is the human connection. It is good that I won gold, but the best part was seeing the people who came out to support us and being with my teammates and them fighting and testing their skills. It felt good to compete beside these people whom I regularly train with,” Zapanta added.
“It empowers you and you will feel a sense of belonging. It is OK to be a tita and be competitive,” Villacastin added.
Both are now preparing to compete in another national tournament slated at the SM Seaside.