It was this past weekend that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners from around the world gathered together in California in hopes of becoming 2014 World Jiu-jitsu champions. The atmosphere and the level of fighting was extraordinary. However, one interesting story was developing in the background of this event - the story of Meggie Ochoa, a BJJ practitioner from the Philippines.
.jpg)
This story of determination started in the Philippines when Meggie Ochoa qualified to represent her country at this Mundials. Simply getting to Mundials was a journey in itself. At first, she needed to get approved for a US Visa. Only after applying twice, she was granted the access to the States. Her second issue was a lack of funds. She turned to MAKEACHAMP and its crowdfunding platform to get support from her community. She was joined by 53 contributors and raised $2,360.00 with her campaign. You can check it out here.
.jpg)
In the spirit of overcoming obstacles, she stepped on the mat in attempts to win the Rooster weight (white belt division). She did so successfully, beating all the girls in her division, claiming her gold medal and the title of the World Champion. Meggie has showed us that we must persevere and keep moving forward despite obstacles in front of us. We want to congratulate Meggie on her success and we also want to thank her for proving that it takes a community of make a champion.