Nekane Fuentes (Reus, 2005) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu prodigy. At just 17 years old, she has been proclaimed champion of all the tournaments within her reach: Spanish, European or World Under-14 championships, the first girl from the province to achieve it. However, her unprecedented talent does not receive enough support for her to continue breaking the mold in her sports career. Although she tries to find alternatives, Nekane does not have any type of sponsor or scholarship to help her fulfill a dream in her career: to attend the World Cup in Dubai, run by one of the most prestigious Brazilian jiu-jitsu Federations in the world.
“It gives me a lot of helplessness that the people around me have to suffer so much so that I can compete.” Nekane Fuentes is a girl who adds to her talent great good sense and eloquence in her responses. She is aware that she owes everything to her family, who do everything possible so that she can do what she likes the most. Travel and accommodation must be added to the competition registration fee. “It’s very complicated, this year we have sacrificed vacations to be able to afford everything,” says her mother, Maribel.
Nekane comes from a family rooted in martial arts, halfway between Brazilian jiu-jitsu and taekwondo, a discipline in which he started with his brother Izan, two years younger. When they felt stuck, Izan discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “I saw videos and I didn’t want my brother to practice it, he thought it would hurt him. For a person who does not know the sport, the images may seem shocking”, says Nekane. Chance or the will of fate, Nekane, who only accompanied his brother in his first training session to “protect him”, ended up falling in love with the discipline.
“Nekane would make any black belt in Spain sweat.” Cristiano Ribas, a guy who combines his vigorous physique with a smile from ear to ear, is Nekane’s teacher. Since he saw her train for the first time with her brother, at just 10 years old, he knew that she had a special talent. His figure goes far beyond a mere instructor, Ribas feels Nekane as one more daughter. “Today it is very easy to talk about her, she is a champion. Behind there are the first training sessions, fears, suffering, mistakes…” claims Ribas.
Ribas is a fifth degree black belt, like him there are only three other people in Spain. He runs the Gracie Barra gym in Vila-seca, the academy with the most affiliated Brazilian jiu-jitsu schools around the world, and of which Nekane is a part. The Ribas-Fuentes pairing could only be the winner. «My teacher is a complicated person, but I connected with him from the first moment». He has taught me everything I know about jiu-jitsu and he has much of my credit for it.
What is Brazilian jiu-jitsu?
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art derived from judo, which in turn has its origins in Japanese jiu-jitsu. The difference between this sport and other martial arts is that most of the combat takes place on the ground. From there it is about subduing the rival through various techniques, but without hitting the rival. Created by Hindu monks to defend themselves against the Vikings, the idea is that a smaller opponent can defeat a larger one by using the technique.
On a personal level, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has helped her to know how to channel her emotions and have confidence in herself, both physically and mentally. In addition, the sport has given him the opportunity to establish new friendships around the territory, with whom he shares training days when the schedule allows.
This martial art is constantly evolving, a fact that most attracts Nekane: “Every day a new technique is discovered. Seeing that you never finish learning everything is what hooks me to the sport”. In recent years, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has experienced a boom in its practitioners. Part of his media interest is that his movements serve as the basis for MMA, mixed martial arts.
Despite the great technical development, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has four main techniques. Nekane is an old fashioned fighter, in every fight she manages to link these primal techniques together. “It’s intuitive to know when you can perform a technique or taunt your opponent into making a certain move so you can counterattack,” Nekane explains.
Although off the mat she is an affable girl, her teacher defines her as an “assassin” once she fights. Her mother shows a video that confirms the words of her teacher. It is the final of the last Spanish Championship. In her recording, Nekane performs a jump from the ground with which in a jiffy she manages to throw her legs over her opponent while strangling her with her arm. This key is known as the flying triangle, due to the shape that is drawn between the legs and arms, and is within the reach of very few fighters due to the elasticity and risk it entails.
Nekane works on the tatami by intuition, she manages to bring out her inner fighter in the moments of greatest tension. But the road to here has not been as easy as it seems. Not so long ago, Nekane felt the responsibility to honor her family and thank them for all the effort they put in for her. That was reflected in the way she competed, her nerves took over her. A talk with her father, an essential figure on her path to success, changed her perspective. “He told me that jiu-jitsu had already been assimilated, he just had to go out and enjoy it. Since I fight for myself, I feel that at the same time I give back to my family.”
Since then, Nekane, in addition to her category, has competed at all, in which the winners of each class compete, regardless of age or weight. Through her innate ability, Nekane is able to beat girls twice her age and height or weigh ten kilograms. In addition, she is a virtual champion of the absolute ranking, a fact that will bring her a prize of 1,500 euros, which she will allocate for her competitions.
Ribas is clear about it: “If Brazilian jiu-jitsu were Olympic, Nekane would be the Spanish representative.” And it is that there is a conflict of interest between this discipline and judo, precisely an Olympic sport. According to the teacher, while in countries like the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil or Japan, jiu-jitsu is an eminence, “the Spanish Judo Federation is not interested in the growth of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.” This entails certain limitations, such as the difficulty of becoming a professional athlete, in the sense of making a living from sport.
Given these circumstances, Nekane has chosen another path. “I would like to become a surgeon, although I will be tied to jiu-jitsu all my life. With everything, Nekane does not give up on continuing to meet goals in her sports career. The Dubai World Cup, in November, would mean testing herself against the best fighters in the world. She has tried to get help in the form of sponsorship from the Salou City Council, her town, but the answer has been negative: it is only possible with team sports. “It is not enough for us with photos and communications, for an athlete it is humiliating to beg for the fact of being able to compete”, claims her teacher. Nekane Fuentes has a talent available to very few. She just needs a push to meet what she considers her “vital” challenge, the “main objective” of her career.
2023-07-21 16:14:15
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