Jason Atrero golden in BJJ champs

Jason Atrero bagged his first ever win and a gold medal no less during the Prova Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championship in the Hwaseongsi Sports Stadium Indoor Gymnasium, South Korea last Saturday.

In the 67-kg white belt division, he out-grappled competitors from South Korea in two matches to secure the gold medal.

This was just the 28-year-old’s second competition and his first podium finish.

He said in his final matchup, he was able to sweep his opponent and gain 2 points, then 4 more points for maintaining the top position. He then rounded it off with a submission using a kimura lock for the gold medal.

With just about one and a half years of training experience under his belt, he said his first win “was an awesome experience.”

The special education teacher at Garapan Elementary School was invited by All Round Jiu Jitsu in Ilsan, Korea to join their team and compete in the tourney.

“It was an honor to compete with them, especially [professor Park’s] gym. It’s a competition team and everyone in his team is very good and each individual won something in the competition,” he said. “So, it made me more motivated to try and win plus I wanted to gain more experience competing in jiu jitsu.”

Atrero was the only person from Saipan to compete in the tournament.

He’s now looking forward to his next competition—the Mats on Fire hosted by Trench Tech on Oct. 5 at the Garapan Central Park Roundhouse and also the Marianas Open International Championship that will be held in Guam on Oct. 12.