Maybelline Masuda

Maybelline Masuda was born in Calamba, Laguna. Her mother, Victoria Constantino is a native of Quezon and her father, Douglas Masuda is a Japanese-American from California who is a retired lawyer and an Elvis Tribute Artist, known as the Elvis of Japan.[3]

At age 15, Masuda was introduced to the Filipino martial art of Yaw-Yan and later joined a Yaw-Yan Buhawi Vale Tudo tournament where she won a gold medal. At age 18, during her 3rd year in college at De La Salle University Manila, she was encouraged by a friend to join a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class held in school and led by URCC MMA Champion Allan Co and DEFTAC Philippines coach Pichon Garcia, due to her prior experience in Yaw-Yan. They eventually invited her to train and join the team Deftac in 2008, where she met Alvin Aguilar, the first home-grown Filipino Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1st degree blackbelt and founder of the URCC.[3] With Hard work and dedication, she further developed her special talent in Jiu Jitsu under his guidance.

As a white belt, Masuda won the lightfeather weight title at the 2009 World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships,[1] becoming the first Filipino to win a title at the tournament.

In 2012, she was promoted to purple belt by her mentor Aguilar which made her the first Filipina Purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

She is among the two who brought home the first gold medals for the Philippines at the Asian Beach Games during the 2014 edition in Phuket, Thailand. She won a medal in Ju-jitsu in the -50 kg category beating Le Thu Trang Dao of Vietnam in the gold medal match. The other one who bagged the other gold medal following her victory was Annie Ramirez also a jiu-jitsu practitioner.[2]

On September 21, 2016, she was promoted and became the first home-grown Filipina brown belt. On June 30, 2018, she was promoted and became the first homegrown Filipina black belt

• Maybelline Masuda 2014 Asian Beach Games Profile