I THINK I speak for all parents when I say that we raise them based on values like hard work, honesty, integrity, respect and humility and hope and pray that they turn out alright.
For the father of Philippine mixed martial arts, Alvin Aguilar, his daughter, 5-year-old Aleia Aielle Aguilar, the country’s youngest world champion in jiu-jitsu, Aleia is not your typical 5-year-old.
Aielle was exposed to jiu-jitsu as early as when she was 3 weeks old. Her mother, the country’s first ever jiu-jitsu world champion winning in 2009, Maybelline Masuda would bring her along and, according to Alvin, she’d play on the mat, see for herself, absorbing everything like a sponge and putting everything into practice.
My immediate thought was—I asked Alvin about this—was burnout.
The president and founder of the Universal Reality Combat Championship narrated how Aielle works hard at everything she does. She doesn’t take anything for granted and she also trains in other martial arts and sports that compliment her jiu-jitsu.
The important thing is that none of this is imposed on Aielle and that Alvin asks his little girl if she wants to stop or if she wants to keep going and that to always remind her to go out there and have fun and that she’s always is surrounded with kids her age when she trains.
Aielle wants to be the best in jiu-jitsu, she wants to win a ton of medals and trophies and to hear a story about a 5-year-old say that the sky’s the limit in terms of her talent and ability.
At 5, she’s barely scratched the surface of what she can achieve and accomplish and that’s a scary thought for her future opponents. As what Darth Vader said in the film “Star Wars: New Hope:” The Force Is Strong With This One.