Redação VF Comunica 
The last few months, from January to December, were times of glory for Sienna Ocean, a kids Jiu-Jitsu athlete who trains with the Mendes brothers from AOJ. Her discipline and grappling skills are evident, and now she has another passion: wrestling. In just a few days, she has achieved significant titles in both modalities, she was the Pan Kids champion in Jiu-Jitsu, and she took first place in a national wrestling tournament in Tulsa.
Read the interview that Sienna gave to the VF Comunica team below:
VF COMUNICA: This year has been packed with achievements. If you could relive one moment from your season, which one would it be and why?
SIENNA OCEAN: I accomplished many of my goals this year and achieved things I was not even expecting to. It is hard to define only one specific accomplishment. If you had asked me this question back in August, my answer would have been simple: winning Pan Kids and getting my yellow belt in Jiu Jitsu.
But in September, my wrestling coach suggested I try to place at the national level by attending the World of Wrestling Tulsa Nationals Kickoff tournament.
I trained hard just in the hopes to place in the top 6. I ended up winning first place and becoming a national champion. This is a massive accomplishment in the wrestling world which I’m extremely proud of.
Stepping on the mat for each match is never a guarantee of a win. But earning this victory is the biggest reward for all the hard work I put in to earn this win and there is nothing more fulfilling as a feeling.
Those are my 2 athletic achievements I’m proud of this season.
Coming into the new season, I now want to be able to help and encourage my teammates to achieve their goals so we can celebrate our achievements together.
VF COMUNICA: How do you feel you’ve grown as an athlete and as a person this year? What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
SIENNA OCEAN: I feel that I have grown a lot as an athlete this year. The biggest lesson that I have learned is no matter what you want to achieve, you can do it if you set your mind to it and follow through with it. The only limits you have are the ones you set for yourself. If you reach your goal sooner than expected, you have to set new goals immediately in order to continue growing. I had to overcome many fears in order to finally get to this emotional state and perform at this level.
I also had to learn to be very organized in my time management with my school work and commitments. Winning titles, as important as it is for me, is not more important than achieving my academic aspirations.
Having to balance school and training is something I have become good at while still making adjustments. But without it, I wouldn’t be able to achieve my next milestones.
VF COMUNICA: Wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu are different but complement each other. What have you learned from wrestling that made you a better overall competitor?
I have learned a lot of things from wrestling that make my jiu jitsu game better. One of the most important things I learned was how to pace myself during a match to not get as tired as my opponents.
Preparing for every aspect is very important. You can’t only train to learn technique. You have to also train to improve your endurance, your power and your mindset. If you lack in any of those areas, you give your opponent a chance to defeat you.
Learning multiple skills is key to growth as a competitor just as schooling has helped my intelligence on and off the mat.
I have many teammates who chose to be homeschooled in order to have more time to train throughout the day. But we have to acknowledge the importance of the on-campus presence and the social skills acquired in school. I will be sharing more of my school activities, mostly my commitment to the ASB(Student Body) program on my @siennaocean_mma page this coming year.
VF COMUNICA: Congratulations on your recent wrestling title! How was the tournament? Send me all the information that you can.
SIENNA OCEAN: Thank you! Wrestling tournaments are so different from jiu jitsu tournaments. They are a lot more intense and challenging.
After talking with my coach, we decided it was time to try and place at the national tournament. I had already attended the Freakshow competition in Las Vegas, a competition I had attended last year but was nowhere near being able to place. This year I won second place in my 12U division.
We decided that I should attend the Tulsa National Kick Off tournament which brings the top wrestling competitors of the nation under one roof.
The goal was to place in the top 6. I trained so hard, missing many social events in order to focus on this new goal I’ve set for myself.
Once we made it to Tulsa, I got my bracket and realized that all I needed to do to get to gold was to win 3 matches (I got a bye thankfully). Unfortunately for me, my side of the bracket had the toughest opponent in it. I had to fight the toughest girls first. I went in thinking, if I lose, I’ll have an uphill battle to even place which I refused to do.
I stepped on the mat, one match at a time, almost losing my first 2 matches in the first rounds. But I came back stronger in the second round and fought hard to get my pin and win both matches (the second one was against the #1 girl in the US). The emotions that went through my mind after this win are impossible to explain. It felt so fulfilling when I realized I won this uphill battle and to be rewarded for my hard work. Now I have to fight for Gold even though I knew the hardest part of this competition was done.
Once I won that match, I knew I was going to win the whole thing. My finals was actually my easiest match which I won by points.
Now that I won this first tournament, my new goal is to win the Triple Crown which means I have to attend the next Tulsa Nationals in January and the Reno Worlds in April.
VF COMUNICA: This season, did you ever find yourself in a tough situation during a match? How did you adjust to turn it around?
SIENNA OCEAN: I have found myself in many tough situations this season. In my last competition, I was down by 7 points in my first match. It was not at all how I wanted the competition to start with me almost getting pinned in the first round.
I refused to accept this outcome so I came back in the second round and attacked hard and got my opponent straight to her back and pinned her.
In my early days in competition, once my opponent would score on me, I would give up and stop fighting but now I know that you can come back from any setback if you choose to. Now I will fight until the last second in a match.
VF COMUNICA: How important has your parents’ support been in your journey? How does it feel knowing they’re always there cheering for you?
SIENNA OCEAN: My parents’ support has been very important to me throughout my journey. They are always there to make sure I have all the tools I need in order to grow in my sports.
I know they sacrifice a lot between driving me to all my practices, preparing my tournament calendar for both sports, making sure I eat correctly, have enough rest, get the right recovery, traveling to tournaments etc.
They always make sure I know they are behind me no matter what, win or lose. It feels amazing to know there is always someone cheering me on whether on the mat on at school.
My parents always push me to use the best of my abilities at school as well. I have a lot of pride. I was selected to be part of the ASB (Student Body) program at school, to have been placed in the enhanced math and to be in French 3 as a 7th grader with my classmates all being in high school. I am grateful for my support system and I hope others can appreciate their support systems and how valuable they are throughout our lives. No athletes achieve success alone and I hope to be a resource for others.
VF COMUNICA: What has been your favorite moment this year, not just on the mats but sharing it with your family?
SIENNA OCEAN: My favorite thing to do is traveling. This year I traveled a lot for competition (Florida, Las Vegas a few times, Tulsa…) but this year I also got to go to Japan. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan and I was able to go there with a few of my friends and their families. We got to visit Tokyo, we went to Disney Sea, ate amazing authentic Japanese food and created memories together.
I also got to go to Okinawa with my parents. I have always wanted to visit that island since watching Karate Kid. I went scuba diving for the first time and it was an amazing experience. Although I like to be able to travel for competition, it’s also fun to be able to travel and live other experiences other than sports related. But, I did visit and train at the Carpe Diem jiu jitsu academy in both Tokyo and Okinawa which was also a cool experience.
Whatever I do from training, studying, etc. I make sure to do it with pride and I always give my 100%. I consider traveling as one of my rewards for my hard work which I am lucky to be able to do. I have had the privilege to travel all around the world with my parents and I know it’s because they are proud of my accomplishments. Our trips are great moments to create unforgettable family memories.
