Maybelline Masuda is a Filipino Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She has earned the Philippines prestige by winning and becoming the first Filipino Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion as a white belt in 2009 and for winning the Country's 1st ever gold medal at the Asian Beach Games for Ju Jitsu in 2014.

Early life

Maybelline Masuda was born in Calamba, Laguna. Her mother, Victoria Constantino is a native of

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...

and her father, Douglas Masuda is a

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in ranking to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

who is a retired lawyer and an

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

Tribute Artist, known as the Elvis of Japan.

Career

At age 15, Masuda was introduced to the Filipino martial art of

Yaw-Yan Yaw-Yan (from Filipino ''Sayaw ng Kamatayan'', lit. ''"Dance of Death"''), is a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon A. Fernandez and based on older Filipino martial arts. Since its inception in the 1970s, it has dominated the kickboxing ...

and later joined a Yaw-Yan Buhawi Vale Tudo tournament where she won a gold medal. At age 18, during her 3rd year in college at

De La Salle University Manila De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Manil ...

, she was encouraged by a friend to join a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class held in school and led by URCC MMA Champion Allan Co and DEFTAC Philippines coach Pichon Garcia, due to her prior experience in Yaw-Yan. They eventually invited her to train and join the team Deftac in 2008, where she met

Alvin Aguilar Arthur Alvin A. Aguilar is a Filipino martial artist and mixed martial arts promoter better known as Alvin Aguilar. He was born on April 28, 1974, in Bacolod, Philippines. He is the president and founder of the Universal Reality Combat Ch ...

, the first home-grown Filipino Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1st degree blackbelt and founder of the URCC. With Hard work and dedication, she further developed her special talent in Jiu Jitsu under his guidance. As a white belt, Masuda won the lightfeather weight title at the 2009 World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships, becoming the first Filipino to win a title at the tournament. In 2012, she was promoted to purple belt by her mentor Aguilar which made her the first Filipina Purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She is among the two who brought home the first gold medals for the Philippines at the

Asian Beach Games The Asian Beach Games, also known as ABG, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia. The Games are described as the second or third largest Asian m ...

during the 2014 edition in

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. She won a medal in Ju-jitsu in the -50 kg category beating Le Thu Trang Dao of Vietnam in the gold medal match. The other one who bagged the other gold medal following her victory was Annie Ramirez also a jiu-jitsu practitioner. On September 21, 2016, she was promoted and became the first home-grown Filipina brown belt. On June 30, 2018, she was promoted and became the first homegrown Filipina black belt

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masuda, Maybelline 1989 births Filipino practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Filipino jujutsuka People from Calamba, Laguna Sportspeople from Laguna (province) Filipino people of Japanese descent Living people De La Salle University alumni