Biography

Her name is Michelle Nicole Dunchus. She is 20 years old and, she is a professional Jiu Jitsu Competitor. She has been training for 2 ½ years out of Triunfo Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under professor Felipe Fogolin. She has been active in the competition circuit for over a year now and compete every two weeks in both Gi and No-Gi. Before her found jiu jitsu, she played 13 years of soccer as a goalkeeper in College, High School, Club and AYSO Leagues. She is a competitive, driven, hard-working athlete who stops at nothing to reach her goals. She trains full time now, averaging anywhere from 20-30 hours a week ONLY spent on jiu jitsu. She works part time as a child care provider and some of her hobbies include skateboarding, rollerblading and going to the beach. She dedicated to winning a World Championship and Pan American Championship in both Gi and No-Gi.

Accomplishments

White belt, I finished as the top ranked white belt in the Middle Heavy weight class and in open weight for the 2016 JJWL season.
- 2x 2016 Gracie world champion gi and No-Gi.
- 4x 2016 SJJIF world champion gi and No-Gi.
- 4x 2016 NABJJF national champion gi and No-Gi.
- 2x 2016 NABJJF all American champion gi.
- 2x 2016 JJWL world champion gi.
- 2016 Copa Pacifica champion gi.
Blue belt, IBJJF Long Beach Open Gi champion.
- Jjwl world champion 2017
- 4x 13th Annual nabjjf champion gi and nogi
- Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Los Angeles Champion
- 4x NABJJF All American Champion Gi and No-Gi.
- SoCal Spring Gi Champion.
- ADCC West Coast Trials 3rd place.
- 2x Copa Pacifica Champion.
Blue Belt Kumite Champion.
- 2x Los Angeles International Open champion Gi and No-Gi.
- 2x Los Angeles International Open 2nd place Gi and No-Gi.
- 2x IBJJF American National Champion.
Gi and No-Gi.
- 2x IBJJF NoGi World Champion
- 2x IBJJF New York Summer Open Champion Gi and No-Gi.
- IBJJF New York Summer Open 2nd place No-Gi.
- 4x 2017 SJJIF World Jiu Jitsu Champion Gi and NoGi

Q&A Session Between Michelle Nicole Dunchus and Elite Sports

Question: What inspires you about BJJ?

Answer: The constant self-improvement is what inspires me the most about jiu jitsu. For me, I compete to test myself and to find the holes within my game. Win or lose, I am back in the gym the next day figuring out what I can improve on, what I did well and how I can combine my fixed mistakes and my go-to moves to create the all-around perfect game plan.

Question: What are your goals for this year? And Next 3 to 5 years?

Answer: For this year, my goal is to simply compete in as many competitions as possible. I have my eye set on winning Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and Trials, as well as IBJJF NoGi Worlds. The next 3 years I want to win Pan Ams and the Worlds and focus on getting my purple belt. Within the next 5 years I can see myself being a high level brown belt and running a kid’s program.

Question: Who inspires you, past or present? Why do they inspire you?

Answer: My professor Felipe Fogolin is my one of my biggest inspirations! A high-level judo black belt from Brazil, multiple time IBJJF World/ European Champion, Fight to Win Pro Champion and 2x EBI veteran- Felipe is the greatest example of hard work and dedication. He is so passionate in everything he does and is the reason I found jiu jitsu in the first place.

Question: Any major accomplishments you’ve been able to achieve in that time?

Answer: The major accomplishments I have achieved since getting my blue belt in December of 2016 was winning The Blue Belt Kumite and placing 3rd at the ADCC West Coast Trials. I am also most recently a 2x IBJJF American National Champion Gi and No-Gi and a 2x IBJJF New York Summer Open Champion Gi and No-Gi.

Question: How long have you been training?

Answer: I have been training for 2 ½ years and have been on the competition circuit for a year and a half.

Question: How often do you train?

Answer: I train full time now- 3 to 4 times per day, 7 days a week. I train in the Gi every single day and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays I train No-Gi. For cardio I enjoy skateboarding and rollerblading.

Question: What are the essential things for the training?

Answer: Work on your mistakes, more time you spent on overcoming it, more you can improve your skills

Question: Do you have a go-to finishing move?

Answer: AMERICANA BABY!!!

Question: What do you think it takes to be a champion in BJJ?

Answer: Hard work and dedication- with those two things you can become a champion in anything you set your mind to.

Question: What sort of gear do you usually keep in your gym bag before hitting the gym? Do you have different items for specific days?

Answer: One thing you will always find in my gym bags in a Gi (because it's important to train in the Gi EVERYDAY) and my huge Hydroflask water bottle. Spats and a Rashguard always a must have, along with my SISU mouth guard and my monkeytape finger tape.