Philippine jiu-jitsu pride Meggie Ochoa keeps grinding for glory

Meggie Ochoa is one of our most bemedaled athletes, and she just increased her accolades by winning the gold in the 2023 Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championships! Included in her haul are two world titles, two Southeast Asian Games gold medals, and an Asian Indoor Games gold.

Ochoa’s martial art isn’t the most popular sport, but it doesn’t stop the jiu-jitsu fighter from trying to gain more recognition for herself and the country, and she is looking to add even more before the year comes to a close, in the Asian Games and the World Games.

She took time out from her training in the United States to spend some time with us.

Q: Talk to us about your recent win.

I went to Thailand for the Asian Championships — our entire jiu-jitsu team — and I had four matches in the competition. I had a Thai in the first round, then my next match was against Vietnam, then Korea. In the finals, I faced a Singaporean (she won 15-0). I wouldn’t say the match was easy, I believe that even if you’re dominant, I don’t like to underestimate my opponents. I study all my opponents, whether they’re experienced or a beginner. I would say it’s just because I knew what she would do.

Q: Did you enter this event expecting to win gold?

Honestly, for most tournaments I join lately, I don’t like thinking about the gold medal. I just set my mind to bringing glory to God. And that’s just what pushes me forward. I don’t pressure myself into winning the gold. Of course, when I pray, I always ask for the gold. If it’s His will. But I just focus on the Lord, and that’s how I end up fighting with joy. It’s ends up taking off the pressure.

Q: You’re in the US now, why there?

A lot of the best guys in the world train here. Specifically, we picked this place because in the Philippines we have clubs, and the headquarters of our club is here in the US. A lot of world champions train here, the best in the world are here, the head of our club is here so we get very good support in this facility.

Q: What can you still improve on?

So many things. One specific thing in terms of my jiu-jitsu is submission. My style is more on points. I win most of my matches on points. I do submissions but I’m “sigurista”, I only do the submissions when I’m already up on points or when absolutely necessary. That’s one aspect of my game I need to improve on. 

Q: What would be the ultimate prize for you?

For now, the competition I have not yet won is the Asian Games, which is happening in September. There’s also AIMAG in November, but I have already got the gold there in 2017. In the Asian Games, I won the bronze in 2018.  So I want the gold in September. 

I also just want to get any medal in the IBJJF World Championship, but I’m not joining it this year. Most likely next year, if I qualify. In the jiu-jitsu world, that’s the toughest competition because you’re competing against the top black belts in the world.

Q: Do you still have your various advocacies?

Yes! Fight to Protect is still running. It’s a lot more focused on teaching jiu-jitsu to children. Before, we were a lot into raising awareness, doing events. But it was cut off during the pandemic. So we decided to focus on teaching the sport to the children who are survivors. We used to teach one home or shelter, but now we teach three shelters. Some are online and some are in person. While I’m away, I have people continuing the work and we are also partnered with our church. 

Q: Any other events you’re preparing for in 2023?

In May, the most immediate is the SEA Games. I’m joining a higher weight class and I’m doing a different discipline. I usually compete in the kimono but not I’m competing in the “no ghi”. Then there’s the JJIF World Championship happening in July and there’s also IBJJF Open also in July which is in Japan. After that, we will do another training camp in the US. Then it’s the Asian Games. If we can fit it in, the World Pro hopefully. There’s a lot in store for 2023. There’s no year like it. Multi sports events will be happening this year because of the postponements due to the pandemic. It’s a big year for jiu-jitsu!

Q: With all these events, how do you schedule your peaks and valleys in training?

Yes there are a lot of competitions. But the way I do it is, I consider certain events as major ones, so those are the ones I want to peak in. The others are building up to the major events. So the three multi-sport events are major — SEA Games, Asian Games and AIMAG are the most important ones. But I think in terms of my training regimen, I feel it’s doable. We usually taper off two weeks before the actual competition in order to be able to perform well, so it is doable.