Samantha de la Costa: Finding her place under the jiu-jitsu sun
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
WHILE she is a relative new convert to the sport of jiu-jitsu, it has not stopped Samantha de la Costa from steadily carving a name for herself in it, winning medals in various competitions along the way.
Started in the sport in 2015, after a decorated judoka career in college, Ms. De la Costa has seen her transition to jiu-jitsu bear much fruit, the most recent of which was a gold medal at the Thailand Ju-jitsu Open Grand Prix 2019 in August.
The Ateneo de Manila University product seized the top hardware in the -45KG category, topping compatriot Danica Palanca in the finals.
Her gold was one of four gold medals that Team Philippines won in the tournament along with three silver and three bronze medals.
Making this latest achievement of hers special, she said, was it was done sans most her senior teammates in the squad and that the experience she had in Thailand would go a long way as she continues to find her place under the jiu-jitsu sun.
“As an athlete, you can only dream of representing your country. So this whole experience — joining the national team makes me so happy! It’s very surreal. I’m still so thankful!!! This is the first international competition I joined as an official part of the national team and I was able to win a medal at that. How can you top that?” said Ms. De la Costa in an e-mail correspondence with BusinessWorld.
“This experience made me more appreciative of everyone; because despite the fact that we come from different teams we were a big family there. Everyone was really helpful and caring. I remember we didn’t have a PT (physical therapist) so everyone was each other’s PT. I really felt the support for one another,” she added as she spoke of their campaign which happened from Aug. 10 to 11 at Rangsit University in Thailand.
In the Ju-Jitsu Open, Ms. De la Costa said her mindset was that of nothing to lose and everything to gain, a product of her years doing judo.
“I remember my first international judo competition, my coach told me this, ‘You have nothing to lose but everything to gain.’ I lost that day but I think it kind of stuck with me after all these years. So the whole time in Bangkok, I kept that in mind,” she said.
Later this year the Philippines will be hosting the 30th Southeast Asian Games where jiu-jitsu will make its debut as a medal event.
Ms. De la Costa said she is very excited for it albeit she rues that she will not be able to compete in it due to a technicality in the SEA Games handbook over the number of athletes to be fielded in a particular event.
“I believe the team is more than ready for the SEA Games. From what I see and experience during training, everyone is giving their all. Like nothing will be left to chance. From strength, technique and even nutrition, everyone is covering everything to be 100% by SEA Games time,” she said.
“Since I’m not playing in the SEA games, you can still expect 10000% support from me! I’ll be giving my all during trainings so my teammates will have good training partners. Also, on competition day, you can expect me on the stands. I will be one of the crazy fans wearing our colors with facepaint,” Ms. De la Costa added.
She went on to say that jiu-jitsu in the SEA Games should be of help in further growing the sport in the country.
“This is really big! Having airtime will truly help inform Filipinos about our sport. It’s a different martial art from karate and taekwondo. Also, this event can help remove the stigma people have with combat sports, especially jiu-jitsu. It’s not a bad and really scary sport! In fact, a lot of kids love doing it! Hopefully this year’s SEA Games can help spread awareness for jiu-jitsu and will come to support our national team in the coming events,” Ms. De la Costa said.
