Hillary Williams, 2010 world champion, is training Jiu-Jitsu differently from what she is used to – not to beat opponents at an upcoming competition, just to improve in the fundamentals, develop her technique and improve as a student, teacher and person, without a medal as an objective. It’s a complete about-face in perspective, she reflects.
The reasons for this? The future doctor’s studies are getting intense at university, so competitions will be left aside altogether. “I’m in love with medicine. We’re getting deep into cases, anatomy, and next month we’ll be dissecting cadavers. I’m loving it!” says Hillary, who studies from 9am to 10pm at night but still trains during the week. “I miss competitions, the atmosphere, the people, but there’s no way around it. I’ll try and referee or stop by some nearby tournaments to quell my longing for it.”
A native of the American state of Arkansas, Hillary tuned in to UFC Rio last weekend and was as excited as a Brazilian: “Minotauro made me so happy; it’s great to see a legend put on such a fine display in his own country. And Anderson is superhuman, he makes me sad! Now I’m thinking I’ll never be badass like him,” says the black belt with a laugh.
We dug up a Youtube video of Hillary, in hopes the doctor won’t abandon competition for good – notice the current absolute world champion dancing to Brazilian funk music in the middle of the street…
