A 13-year-old Filipino athlete turned a competition setback into a championship moment at the IBJJF Orange County International Open last weekend in Costa Mesa, California.
Konrad Ascherman, a member of the Philippines National Youth Jiu Jitsu Team, arrived at the tournament to compete in the Teen 2 Orange Belt division — only to find no opponents waiting for him. Rather than withdraw, he entered the Teen 3 Orange Belt bracket, taking on competitors who were both older and heavier.
He won the division.
Ascherman trains at Art of Jiu Jitsu in Southern California under Gui Mendes, a world champion whose academy has produced competitive grapplers at multiple levels. Born in Quezon City, Ascherman is among a growing number of Filipino youth athletes competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on the international circuit.
Two major assignments await him later this year. Ascherman is scheduled to represent the Philippines at the Asian Youth Championships in Kazakhstan and at the JJAU Southeast Asia Regionals in Cambodia.
