Emily Kwok | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | [1] Aomori, Japan | 5 October 1980 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Canadian [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Division | Middleweight
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Style | Brazilian jiu-jitsu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | Princeton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Princeton BJJ – Marcelo Garcia [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trainer | Marcelo Garcia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | 3rd Deg. BJJ black belt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wins | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By decision | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Losses | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | BJJ instructor, consultant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | emilykwok [3] princetonbjj | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Emily Kwok (born 5 October 1980) is a Canadian submission grappler. A 3rd degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) instructor and former mixed martial arts (MMA) competitor, Kwok is the first Canadian woman to receive a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the first to become world champion. [1] As one of the first women to rise to prominence, Kwok is widely regarded as an early pioneer of the BJJ scene in North America.
Emily R. Kwok was born on 5 October 1980, in Aomori, Japan, from a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, when she was a baby her family immigrated to Canada. During her late teens in Vancouver, Kwok discovered sambo then started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in 2001, complemented by Wing Chun and kickboxing, before moving to New York City. [4] She received her blue belt from Renzo Gracie, purple from Takashi Ouchi, and brown and black belt from Ricardo Almeida. [1] As a brown belt in the brown/black category, Kwok won the 2007 final defeating black belt Luciana Dias with a score of 17—0 [4] becoming the middleweight world champion. Kwok became the first Canadian woman to receive a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and in 2007 the first to become Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion [lower-alpha 1] . [6]
Throughout her competitive career, Kwok also fought has an amateur and professional MMA fighter for the Smackgirl organisation in Korea and Japan. [7] Affiliated with Marcelo Garcia, Kwok founded Princeton BJJ with Art Keintz in 2010 in Princeton, New Jersey where she trains and teaches. She has also been an early organizer of Women's Grappling Camp. Kwok has been called "a legend ahead of her time" [8] and is widely regarded as a pioneer, paving the way for women in the sport. [9] [10] In 2018, she won the World Master Championship in Las Vegas. [11] In April 2022, Kwok returned to competition winning gold at the 2022 Pan Championship in the Master 3 / middleweight division. [12] Kwok won gold in January at the 2023 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu European Championship competing in Master 3 / middleweight division. [13]
Main Achievements: [1]
Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Renzo Gracie > Ricardo Almeida > Emily Kwok [1]
Kyra Gracie Guimarães is a Brazilian submission grappler and a 4th degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner. A member of the Gracie family and a highly decorated competitor, she is a four-time World Jiu-Jitsu champion and a three-time ADCC Submission Fighting World champion.
Roger Gracie is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner and coach.
The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered the most important and prestigious jiu-jitsu tournament of the year.
Marcio Feitosa is a Brazilian 6th degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has learned directly from Carlos Gracie Jr., founder of the Gracie Barra Academy in Rio de Janeiro. He has risen to the podium eight times from 1997 to 2006 at several world championships.
Kron Gracie is a Brazilian and American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, and instructor.
Neiman Gracie Stambowsky is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. A two-time Pan-American champion in coloured belts, Gracie medalled at the 2013 black belt World No-Gi Championship before transitioning to MMA competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. Gracie has also previously fought for the World Series of Fighting.
Leandro Pereira do Nascimento Lo, better known as Leandro Lo, was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A record holder with eight IBJJF world championship titles in five different weight classes, as well as multiple wins at every major international tournament, Lo is considered one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu competitors of all time.
Lana Stefanac is an American mixed martial artist, grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and instructor. Stefanac is a World, Pan American, and US National Brazilian jiu-jitsu Champion in colored belts, she is a two-time black belt world champion and the first American woman to become world champion in both her weight class and in the Open class.
Alexandre Carneiro Monteiro de Freitas commonly known as Alexandre "Soca" Freitas is a Brazilian grappler, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor and instructor. He is the founder of Soca BJJ.
AJ Agazarm is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist.
Dominyka Obelenyte is a Lithuanian born, grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. Obelenyte is a multiple Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion in coloured belt and a four times black belt world champion in both her weight class and in the open division accomplished by the age of 20.
Nathalie "Tata" Ribeiro is a submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor and instructor. A multiple time world champion in colored belt, Ribeiro is a three-time World Championship medallist, the 2019 World No-Gi Champion, the 2022 European Champion, the 2022 Pan-American champion and the 2021 Pan-American champion in both Gi and No-Gi.
Gabrielle McComb Lima, also known as Gabi McComb, is a Brazilian submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. McComb is a multiple times World and Pan-American champion, in both Gi and No-Gi. She is the 2021 Black Belt Featherweight World Champion.
Claire-France Thévenon is a French grappler, a 4th dan judo black belt and a 1st degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor and instructor. An IBJJF European Champion and World medallist at brown belt, Thévenon is a black belt World, Pan-American, European, AJP World Pro and AJP Grand Slam medallist as well as the 2022 Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship super-heavyweight silver medallist.
Penny Thomas is a South African submission grappler and 3rd degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt practitioner and coach. After opening South Africa's first jiu-jitsu academy in her garage, Thomas won two BJJ world champion titles. Subsequently, she relocated to the United States, where she trained under the guidance of Luis Heredia and later Leticia Ribeiro.
Tammi Musumeci is an American submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. A multiple times world champion in colored belts, Musumeci is a black belt world champion, a five-time No-Gi world champion and a two-time Pan American champion.
Amy Campo is an American submission grappler, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt athlete.
Brianna Ste-Marie is a Canadian submission grappler, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt athlete. An IBJJF World No-Gi, Pan American, European and American national jiu-jitsu champion in coloured belts, as well as a Combat Jiu-Jitsu and Medusa champion; Ste-Marie is a 2022 World No-GI champion, a 2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship medallist and the 2022 ADCC Submission Grappling under 60 kilograms (130 lb) silver medallist.
Juliana Vieira Borges is a Brazilian former freestyle wrestler, submission grappler, Judoka and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt practitioner.