Althea the Fighter
Fifteen-year-old Althea Frances Mondigo is not your ordinary teenager, more so in the field of martial arts.
Althea, a yellow belt in Jiu-jitsu, has proven that this sport is for everyone, and even young girls like her can dominate in competitions.
She started training in Jiu-jitsu when she was only 13 years old. It was her father who influenced her to try this particular martial art, which is a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent.
Barely two years later, she already started winning medals in competitions in and out of Cebu. For someone who only got interested in Jiu-jitsu to learn how to defend herself, that’s no mean feat.
“I really just wanted to learn self-defense because in our environment these days, you can never be sure about your safety. It’s really dangerous now for girls with incidents like rape and abduction happening,” Althea said.
It wasn’t easy for Althea to learn martial arts. Before she became a yellow belt, she recalled that she lacked the patience in mastering how to properly execute the moves and positions that she was being taught.
But as months passed, she learned not only the complexities of the martial art but also important values and lessons. Jiu-jitsu, she said, helped her build her character and helped her control her anger whenever she had a hard time at practice or in competitions. It has also helped her cope with anxiety and build her confidence.
Althea has joined different competitions such as the Dumau Cebu International Jiu-jitsu Championship, Dumau Philippine International Jiu-jitsu Championship, Dumau Tokyo Jiu-jitsu Championship in Tokyo, Japan, and the Asian Sport Jiu-jitsu Federation. In the competitions that she has been to, she came home with silver and three gold medals.
Not too many girls her age engage in martial arts, but this didn’t stop Althea from exploring this sport because for her, self-defense is for everyone.
Fortunately for Althea, her studies don’t get in the way of her sport, and vice versa, since she can study at her own pace while being home-schooled. That way, she gets to spend more time in the ym to train especially when a competition is coming up.
“I have school for just eight hours and after that, I go straight to the ym for my drills, then training,” she shared.
When preparing for a competition, she spends five hours in training, from 5 to 10 p.m. Even her weekend afternoons are spent practicing.
Like all other sports, mastering Jiu-jitsu requires diligence, patience, commitment and hard work. Despite all the difficulties she experienced, Althea encourages the young ones to try learning Jiu-jitsu not necessarily as a sport, but as a way to defend themselves.