Belgian-Moroccan Jiu-Jitsu Prodigy Amal Amjahid Clinches 8th World Title at 24

"I started jiu-jitsu at the age of 7. At school, I often fought, I had too much energy and my mother was very often summoned by the teachers who were really fed up with me. I was often teased and one day, the teachers, so exasperated, advised my mother to enroll me in a combat sport," Amal Amjahid confided to 2M.ma.

After unsuccessfully trying boxing, karate, and taekwondo, she finally found her place in ju-jitsu. "One day, by chance, we came across jiu-jitsu and there I finally discovered the sport that suited me best. I fell in love with it and I immediately got hooked," she recalls.

Since then, the young athlete has worked hard to reach the top of this combat sport. With her eighth world title she just won, Amal Amjahid is an eight-time European and eight-time world champion. She has won titles in the 55 kg, 62 kg and 70 kg categories.

This record, she owes to her coach and her parents. "My coach has been the same since I was 7 years old. He is the one who accompanied me, who followed me, who coached me all these years. He shared his knowledge with me, his experience and he gave me the best advice to win my various titles. He also became my stepfather since he married my mother," she said. Her challenge, says this native of Chefchaouen and Nador, is to reach or even exceed the record of 10 world titles held by another ju-jitsuka.