Anna Rodrigues

Black Belt 
Instagram: @a.rodjj

I started training jiu-jitsu when I was 13 years old. I have always been passionate about sports, and when I was 8 years old, I told my parents that I would be a professional athlete one day. I still didn't know which sport would be my focus—I lived in the favela and could not afford expensive sports. Expensive sports were very distant from my reality, and in the favela the affordable sports were volleyball, artistic gymnastics, and martial arts like jiu-jitsu. When I was 8 years old, I started my search for the perfect sport, but unfortunately I only found it when I was 13 years old. When I started jiu-jitsu I had already practiced many sports, but none caused as much emotion as jiu-jitsu.

What I like most about jiu-jitsu is the emotion it brings. I love the mix of feelings when I am fighting or even just thinking about the fight. Since I was a child I have been looking for the perfect feeling, and only jiu-jitsu makes me feel the perfect rush of sentiment. 

At just 22 years old, I had already won all the biggest titles in the sport with kimino. This is a major feat, very few people have achieved it so quickly. I am also part of a revolutionary project in the sport, a project that has been changing lives and changing the sport for the better. Not only have I been successful as an athlete, but also I have had an important role in revolutionizing the sport. A very interesting part is also that at only 20 years old, I was already able to live just from jiu-jitsu. It is very difficult in the sport to live just from jiu-jitsu, even more so as a young woman.

An interesting very fact about me: I am super passionate about fashion. I have been studying fashion for almost two years, and I intend to travel the world studying more. I want to build a successful brand and be recognized outside of jiu-jitsu,as well. I love jiu-jitsu, and I have had a lot of success within the sport. I feel that the "jiu-jitsu" world is not big enough for me, and I need to expand outside the bubble of competition.