Philippine jiu-jitsu team ready for Asian Championships

MANILA, Philippines – With the national trials all set and done, the Philippine jiu-jitsu team is getting ready for its last weeks of preparations for the upcoming 2023 Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championships that will be held at the Rangsit University in Bangkok, Thailand from February 24-28. 

“[The squad] is composed of 28 players, including multiple Southeast Asian Games medalists like Annie Rameriz, Marc Lim, Carlo Peña, Meggie Ochoa, Jolly Co and Jan Cortez,” divulged head coach Stephen Kamphuis. 

“The national trials were also used to identify talent for a pool that will be competing in a rather busy schedule for 2023. In February, we have the Asian Championships. Then we have the Southeast Asian Games in May, the Asian Games, the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games and the World Combat Series,” he added.

Kamphuis has been the head coach of the national team since November 2021 and is a former Oceania Judo Champion, as well as a Pan pacific, Australian, Asia-Pacific Jiu Jitsu Champion. He is a seven-time Open Weight Black Belt World Masters Jiu Jitsu Champion in the United States and a three-time International Open Weight Champion in Brazil.

Aside from Kamphuis, the other coaches are Allan Co and John Baylon for the No Gi athletes and Erwin Tagle and Harvey Navarro for the Show and Duo Systems.

In addition to those competitions, there’s the Jiu Jitsu World Championships and the Thailand Grand Prix as well. 

The national team will train as a whole for the first time on Sunday, February 5.