Meggie, Kim on top of world

Meggie Ochoa is just about five feel tall and Kim Custodio, 5-4. They weigh a little less or a little more than 100 pounds each so both fit the description of being a wisp of a woman. But make no mistake about it. Meggie and Kim are tough as nails. They’re reigning jiu jitsu world champions. You wouldn’t think it at first because they’re charming, pretty and gracious.

Meggie, 32, struck gold in 48 kg at the Jiu Jitsu International Federation (JJIF) World Championships in Abu Dhabi early this month while Kim, 35, took top honors in 45 kg. It was the second JJIF title for Meggie as she made her breakthrough in 2018 in Sweden. In all, Meggie has collected five world crowns with the first as a novice white belter in 2014. The most prestigious recognition comes with JJIF’s sanction and Meggie, a black belter, has two of that.

For Kim, winning the world crown was the achievement of a lifetime. When she was 17 in 2004, Kim joined a beauty contest and was named Miss Iloilo Dinagyang. Jiu jitsu was farthest from her mind. After graduating in Iloilo, she worked in a cruise ship then was employed as a business development and marketing officer at a local casino. With a steady job and a comfortable lifestyle, Kim found herself gaining weight. Her waistline expanded to 34 inches and she became depressed. When shopping for clothes, she couldn’t find anything flattering. So Kim decided to change the course of her life. She quit her job and enrolled in a gym to get fit, first through boxing then later through jiu jitsu. Kim said jiu jitsu was particularly fascinating because overcoming an adversary didn’t require awesome power or size, just technique and smarts. She’d been warned about bad boys in the big city so jiu jitsu seemed like a perfect art to master for protection.

Before long, Kim began competing in matches, paying her own way to join competitions abroad. In 2016, she claimed the silver as a white belter at the World Championships and it triggered a passion that led to opening a school to teach the sport. Today, Kim continues to teach at the Carpe Diem gym in Salcedo Village, Makati, sharing her experience and expertise with beginners and advanced practitioners alike. A purple belter, Kim is on her way to brown and black and by the way, her waistline is now a stunning 24.

Meggie’s involvement in sports was initially as an Ateneo trackster. She tried short and distance running, discus and even shot put but couldn’t excel. Someone suggested to try MMA but after three opponents backed out in scheduled matches, she turned to jiu jitsu. Meggie used to work with the late Gina Lopez for the ABS-CBN foundation but is now full-time into her sport with an advocacy to teach self-defense, particularly to sex abuse victims through “Fight To Protect.” She captured gold in 45 kg at the 2019 SEA Games and another gold in 48 kg in this year’s Hanoi edition. Meggie’s collection includes gold at the 2016 Asian Beach Games and bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. In Abu Dhabi, she didn’t yield a single point in sweeping four matches for the world title, beating Canada’s Vicky Hoang, 2-0, in the final. Last week, Meggie pocketed silvers at the World Masters and World Pro to cap a nearly month-long jiu jitsu festival in the Emirates.

Kim’s road to the throne wasn’t as smooth. She didn’t surrender a point in her first three matches but in the final against Thailand’s Kacie Tan Pecharada, the outcome was settled in OT. Kim said she heard Kacie’s ankle pop at least thrice yet the Thai refused to give up. Kim eventually won, 6-4.