DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — 12-year-old Aaminah Abdrabboh recently made history by becoming the first hijabi girl to win gold at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Pan Kids Tournament in Florida.
"It's like getting there is a difficulty, so it's like you have to train seven days a week during the summer, like four hours of classes a day," said Aaminah.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has rapidly become one of the toughest martial arts in the world. And Aaminah's hard work paid off at the tournament, and she submitted her final opponent with a classic arm bar.
Aaminah has been training with her siblings since she was seven at Metro JiuJitsu, a Southgate dojo run by her dad, professor Mohammad Abdrabboh. And even though Aaminah has won 15 gold medals in various local competitions over the years. This one will always be close to her heart.
"I'm grateful that I can do the sport that I love and follow my faith at the same time," said Aaminah.
Until 2014, the IBJJF banned participants from wearing a hijab or Islamic headscarf for Muslim female fighters.
"Anybody who competes, wants to beat the best, and if she wasn't there, the best wasn't in the building. So I'm glad the ban was lifted, and Aaminah was the best in the world. She went out there and proved it," said Professor Mohammad.
"Sometimes, I have to think about if I do this and that, is my hijab going to slip?" said Aaminah.
"You know, taking your hand from here to defending yourself to adjust the hijab. You know you have a whole open space, so they have to be very vigilant and hyper-focused and sensitive about when and where they can do something that can put them at a disadvantage," said Professor Mohammad.
For Professor Mohammad, winning is secondary. He wants all his six children to be good humans, and Aaminah's win is a testament to that.
"To teach girls to have more self-confidence, more self-worth, emotional and physical posture. We are achieving our goal, so for anybody, the medals are going to come. You just have to keep competing," said Mohammad.
But for Aaminah, her motivation to train is to face her biggest adversary, her 14-year-old brother, Issah, who also practices jiu-jitsu.
"I think if we are pound for pound, I would beat him," said Aaminah.
It's a healthy beef that's been going on since she can remember.
"He is 20 or 30 pounds heavier than me, and my biggest dream is to beat him," said Aaminah.
Meanwhile, professor Mohammad believes his youngest daughter's win is a win for women in general and the community.
"Her win is also a symbol, if a boy can do it, girls can do it too. The hijab shouldn't restrict you from any type of sport," said Professor Mohammad.
To learn more about Jiu-jitsu journey, visit to www.metrojj.com.
