Hey, Guys. What’s up? In the Athlete of The Week, we received Yacinta (Yaya) Nguyen, brown belt from Toronto BJJ on Canada. She told us a little about their championships, training routine and much more. Check it out!
Yacinta was a high level judoka in Canada and on Februry 2013, she decided to attend a selective on Jiu Jitsu World Pro on Montreal, with her brother’s help, that already trained jiu jitsu. For her, it was the best decision she made in her life. “I was blue belt and I thought that it was very interesting. Being able to win a trip with all paid to Abu Dhabi… I already liked ground fighting a lot and since that competition, I fell in love for the sport and I changed the competition of Judo for Jiu Jitsu. I always like to compete on a high level and I felt that jiu jitsu suited me better.”
About her difficulties, she told us that female jiu jitsu on Canada is still growing up, that’s why it is so difficult find full categories to advanced belts. Because of that, for her, it is really important to travel abroad everytime she can, to accumulate experiences for championships.
A month before her championships, she puts focus on competition and takes precaution not to get hurt while training. She trains the weakest and strongest points of her game and keeps a good training rhythm. Besides that, she trains a lot of repetitions and techniques that she intends to use on tournaments. A week before, she trains to recover fast. According to Yacinta, this year she needed to lose weight for the World Championship on Abu Dhabi, so she made a diet that started a month before and she increased the amount of cardio on physical preparation. Usually, she doesn’t do anything a couple of days before her tournaments, trying to relax and to have good night’s sleep.
About her bigger idol on sport, she talked about her brother, Dainis Nguyen. Although he isn’t known at an international level, she claims that he is an excellent black belt and always been her best training partner.
“He is the person that most encourages me to be better. He believes on my potential and keeps helping and inspiring me every day. Without him, I would not be where I am today.”
Her principal titles are:
- 1st Place at Abu Dhabi World Pro 2013 (blue belt)
- 1st Place at Abu Dhabi World Pro 2014 (purple belt)
- 3rd Place at Abu Dhabi World Pro 2015 (purple belt)
- 1st Place IBJJF World Pro, California, 2015 (purple belt)
- 2nd Place (open weight) at IBJJF World Pro, California, 2015 (purple belt)
- 3rd Place at Abu Dhabi World Pro 2016 (brown and black belt)
- 3rd Place on IBJJF World Pro, California, 2016 (brown belt)
- 2nd Place (open weight) on IBJJF World Pro, California, 2016 (brown belt)
About her fights on Abu Dhabi World Pro this year, she told us that her first fight was against Katia Guimarães Pina (brown belt) and she won by submission. The second fight was against Monique Elias, and, according to Yaya, the fight was very nice. She tried a takedown, but Monique pulled guard first. She took some advantages while fighting to try passing guard and in the end, she took the back and tried to hook an strangulation. She won with 4 points and 4 advantages.
Then, the semifinal was against Priscila Cardoso and great part of fight was standing. Priscila pulled to closed guard, Yacinta up, opened the guard and tried to pass, but didn’t get take out the foot. She lost by one advantage by trying a takedown. The last fight for bronze medal was at the next day, against Polyana Barbosa. She got two points for a takedown at the start and then, remained at half guard during all confront. She won by two points: “On general, it was an excellent competition for me and I was very happy with the result”.
Yacinta finished the graduate of Spanish and Marketing this year and works as receptionist at a hotel in Toronto. For her, it was always difficult to conciliate the studies, work and training, but she thinks that is very important to never stop training while doing another obligations, even a little. And sure, many times she trains less than she wants, but she tries to create a routine and follow it the more she can.
About her diet, she told us that she eats many fruits, salads and eggs, but loves candies too. Always drinks a banana vitamin in the morning before training or tournaments. But she eats like a normal person and does diet before competitions. According to her, the diets always include lemon, sweet potato and many vegetables.
At jiu jitsu, Yacinta’s biggest goal is to become a black belt world champion. She wants to continue participating on high level competitions! Besides that, for her, the jiu jitsu is a sport that helped her to create healthy habits and keeps her on shape. So, she wants to keep training, teaching and encouraging people.
“I think it is very important to believe in yourself. There will always be people that say that is hard and impossible and, many times, they mean it with good intentions. But it is really important not to let fears hinder your goals”.
