Guangzhou, China, July 15, 2026: Yani Lopez of the Philippines has really stood out during the 2026 OCA-UWW Asian Wrestling Youth Camp and Course for Coaches at the Guangzhou Polytechnic of Sports.
Not just because of her feisty grappling technique and ready smile of acknowledgement and appreciation for her opponents but also because of her studious note-taking on the sidelines.
“I started doing that around two years ago,” says the 15-year-old Filipino fireball.
“I made it a habit. My coach back home and the president of our wrestling federation at home, Chief Alvin Aguilar…he told me to start writing down what happens during my training sessions.
“So I write down each technique that we learned in detail. I also write the things that I need to work on, and what I don’t really understand, what I do really well.
“I also jot down the things that happened to me during the sparring, so how I win, how I lose, the techniques that I use, what did work, what didn’t work.
“In 2024 I won the world championship in jiujitsu and I think that really helped me a lot, so I made it a point to keep doing it.
“I also jot down the things that are discussed during the presentations of the UWW and the OCA.”
Yani admits that her idol back home is Maybelline Masuda, the Philippines’ first jiujitsu world champion in 2009 and winner of the gold medal at the Asian Beach Games in 2014.
“I admire Professor Maybelline Masuda a lot. She’s the very first Filipino world jiujitsu champion and I have always looked up to her ever since I was a little girl. I watched her at the Mall of Asia – she competed there one time and I just really admired her. I have always looked up to her ever since.
“I am very grateful because she is one of my coaches now. I train under her. I started jiujitsu because of her. She is a very great person. She continues to inspire me.”
