Bon William D. Fernandez 09175358025 bwdfernandez@gmail.

com Grappling with a Beat by Will Fernandez

THE sport of Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ) has been fairly new to the Philippines as it was only recognized by Filipinos during the late-90s to early 2000s. The sport involves getting the leverage and attaining the most favorable position and successfully attempt to submit your opponent. The sport became popular worldwide thanks in part to the monumental unveiling of a new sport, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). During the first, now famous, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the eyes of the world paid their attention to a small, stocky Brazilian by the name of Royce Gracie. Gracie managed to defeat every single guy, even twice as big as him, to win the event without landing a single kick or punch. Today, professional athletes such as Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre have used BJJ to perfection, which has inspired a lot of people worldwide to try it out. One of the people who were inspired was Aldo, an average Filipino college student now on his 3rd year studying Communications in Ateneo de Manila University. He wears glasses, he likes to listen to The Beatles and Pink Floyd, and he enjoyed Math during high school and now likes going to Advertising classes. At first glance, you would think Aldo is just a plain, simple guy, but dont be fooled because under that faade is a BJJ blue belt who can sweep you from where you stand. Born on March 12, 1991, Ronaldo Francisco Esteban Vergel de Dios lived in an athletic, competitive, yet caring household. As the third of four brothers, Aldo already experienced competition at an early age. Ironically, BJJ wasnt the first sport Aldo learned because his two

older brothers played soccer, and even played for the varsity team during high school. Aldo tried the sport but never got the hang of it. After his first unsuccessful stint with a sport, Aldo got interested and tried a number of combat sports such as karate and muay thai. Despite that, Aldo will eventually get a sport which he like and enjoy doing through BJJ. Aldo was first introduced to BJJ through his best friend, Diego Nepomuceno. Upon learning BJJ, Aldos preconception of martial arts as a purely striking sport was erased. He felt at ease as learned that technique was more required than strengtha sport that will challenge an athlete physically and mentally. Using this newfound joy and appreciation for the sport, he strived and practiced until he was able to join Atos Philippines, a BJJ team based here. Through BJJ, Aldo was able try out Judo and found it easy to switch between the two due to their similarities. During high school, Aldo was given the opportunity to show his perseverance and dedication when he joined his first tournament, which was a very memorable one. Despite training religiously, Aldo lost the tournament because he suffered an injury. He popped his elbow, which was popped back in, but had to stop training for at least 2 months. Aldo had a hard time adjusting to seeing his teammates train while he had to heal his injury. It sucks, said Aldo when asked to describe it. He also said that it was hard adjusting because he always sleeps better whenever he trains. Even though he tasted the bitterness of defeat and felt the sting of injury, this became a catalyst for Aldo to strive further and train harder. He still trained other body parts which werent injured so that he wouldnt have a hard time adjusting back to the regular training regimen with his teammates. It seemed that fate would reward Aldo for his hard work when he won a gold medal in the UAAP Judo Juniors Competition.

Despite all these experiences as an athlete, Aldo still finds time to do the other thing he loves: music. Being raised in a household with a musical background and with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and System of a Down as some of his favorite bands, its not hard to see that Aldo will be picking up an instrument to play. Since high school, Aldo has been playing the drums and is in a band with his two older brothers called Hansom. Theyre doing pretty well as they just released their first album and are garnering a lot of fans. Its a good thing he has his band for an outlet, but he admitted that he had to sacrifice Jujitsu/Judo training for the sake of the band. Sometimes, its becoming the source of stress, not Jujitsu, said Aldo. Despite the stress he gets with the band, he finds drumming helpful to this athletics and vice-versa. He said that coordination is important since Jujitsu and Judo involves working with the whole body. He also said that through drumming, he was able to use his ambidexterity as a tactical advantage whenever he fights. As mentioned earlier as to how BJJ inspired Aldo Vergel de Dios, he also admitted that BJJ has helped him become level-headed during times of stress and conflict. He said that he used to have a short temper and gets ticked of easily. BJJ has helped him become calm and rational when the going gets tough. Ironically, he also tries to avoid confrontations as much as he can, even though hes a fighter. Instead, through BJJ, he has learnt to make new friends and has made new friends. The only things left in Aldos checklist are to get a black belt and be able to compete at the World Jujitsu Championship. With a tournament in Thailand set this October, Aldo is set to conquer the world one step at a time, or in his case, one beat at a time.

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