Hong Kong homecoming as jiu jitsu world champ Margot Ciccarelli looks to break stigmas and inspire women
- Black belt feels ‘innate desire to give back to community’ and smash the stereotype in Hong Kong that a sporting career can’t be ‘an awesome profession’
- Ciccarelli, teaching at Tempo Jiu Jitsu in Soho, wants to create safe space for female grappling in a city she considers her second home after New York
It’s not often that Hong Kong gets a front-row seat to world champion athletes sharing their knowledge, but Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Margot Ciccarelli recently treated lucky members of the grappling community with a return to the city she considers her second home.
Born to an Italian father and Hong Kong mother in London, Ciccarelli first took up jiu jitsu in the English capital for two weeks. She then did a work experience placement in Maui, before her life changed. After three months in Hawaii, she came back to Hong Kong on her gap year in late 2012, and immersed herself in the jiu jitsu scene.
“I thought I was gonna study astrophysics – who knew I would end up being a professional athlete?” she told the Post.
That is something that is close to the 28-year-old’s heart. With herself as living proof, Ciccarelli has wanted to show that careers in athletics should not be looked down upon in Hong Kong.
“I’ve been back and forth – I have a very tight connection to Hong Kong and I truly consider it to be a home more than England,” said Ciccarelli, who is now based in New York City. “I’ve been back more times than [to] London in the last decade.
“I feel this innate desire to want to give back to the Hong Kong community, and really make jiu jitsu more accessible, because I think there’s not a lot of world-class athletes who run through Hong Kong, unless they’re really getting paid for it.