From Örebro, Sweden, Astrid Schölin is one of the top-ranked featherweight black belts in Europe and is a highly prolific competitor both across the continent and internationally. 

Astrid’s journey in martial arts began when she was very young, when she trained in  Japanese ju-jitsu, which includes throws and strikes in addition to the ground game. “I started with ju-jitsu when I was small, but only liked the newasa part. After a few years I found out that there was a sport where you could only do the newasa part and skip the fighting part.” But being a smaller athlete, it was hard to find training partners her size, so she wasn’t consistent. It wasn’t until 2016, when, at the age of 15, she could train with the adults, that her jiu-jitsu career really took off. Seven years later, she was awarded her black belt. 

The highlight of Astrid’s career was shortly before then, however, when she won the IBJJF Europeans as a brown belt, in a division filled with high-level athletes. “It was then that I truly realized that I was good, that I deserved my spot amongst the best, and that I had a chance at the podium as a black belt, as well.” 

Astrid considers a champion mindset to be one that doesn’t back away from a challenge. “A champion is someone who isn’t afraid to lose even though the bracket is stacked, someone who says yes to a super fight against someone they already lost to. A champion is someone who rises from losses and continues putting themself out there.” Her competitive record speaks to holding that as truth. 

While Astrid admits her game may not be the most exciting, her gravitation toward the tried-and-true techniques gets her on the podium more often than not. “My game is very strategic, some people would probably say boring. I am not a person that jumps for submissions; rather I prefer to sweep, pass and then submit. I really like the over-under pass and have a high success rate with it.”