Mitchell Training for Mundials
By NICOLE KATO | Photos from the Mitchell family
Sixteen-year-old Alexis Mitchell is heading to the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (more commonly known as Mundials) May 29 to June 2 and is raising funds for her trip.
Fundraiser T-shirts can be purchased for $20 at Gracie Fighter Academy, 84-1170 Farrington Hwy. Suite A2-AA in Makaha. Online orders (including shipping) are $25 by email to makahagear@yahoo.com with name, shipping address, quantity and shirt size, as well as a contact number.
Dubbed as the most important event in the jiu-jitsu annual calendar, the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship attracts the most skilled and well-trained jiu-jitsu practitioners from around the world.
“I’m really excited and nervous at the same time,” Mitchell admits. “I’m working out and training hard every day so I can go over there to compete, knowing I did everything I could to perform at my best.”
In order to prepare for the tournament, she is training in jiu-jitsu twice a day, six days a week. She also does strength and conditioning five times a week with her uncle, David Pa‘aluhi.
“I’m starting to watch what I eat, and I run,” explains Mitchell, who trains out of 808 Gracie Fighter, the only Cesar Gracie Academy in Hawaii. “On my rest day I body board at Makaha Beach.”
Mitchell is a light feather weight, fighting at 106.5 lbs, and says that her dad (Johanne) got the whole family started in jiu-jitsu.
“I am very fortunate to have my mom (Lynette), dad, uncle (Gino Rosales) and little sister (Sky) training with me and supporting me since day one,” she says. “We started training four days a week when we began jiu-jitsu, and it became part of our daily routine and now our lifestyle.
“When the first tournament came around I was interested in competing and testing all that I had learned. From them, I kept training to get better for the next tournament.”
And for Mitchell, it’s all about the competition.
“It’s where all my training is put to the test, mentally and physically,” she explains. “Competing in big tournaments like the Mundials is really nerve wracking as soon as you enter the pyramid. It’s emotional, and it’s an adrenaline rush. Sometimes I win, but sometimes I lose, its really depends on my perspective whether I grow from the experience or not.”
