This is a typical day for Matanane. Food and movement have always been two sides of the same coin for her, especially as a mother, dietitian, extension agent, nutrition instructor, and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt competitor and coach. Undeniably, she is also a practitioner of balance, adeptly flowing with the rhythms of an active, dynamic lifestyle.

Early Lessons

Matanane’s relationship with health and fitness started in school. An all-around youth athlete, she participated in everything from basketball, to ballet, to cross-country. Despite her petite stature, she was fiercely competitive, which also led her to being more deliberate with how she fueled her body.

“I picked up on nourishment without knowing the term. I just understood if I wanted to perform and win championships, I needed to have the nutrition for it,” Matanane explains.

The awareness deepened at home. Matanane’s great aunt fed the whole family, but sudden medical concerns spurred noticeable changes. Brown rice replaced white. Carrots became the new go-to snacks. Salt disappeared. Her aunt apologized for the bland food, but Matanane didn’t see it as an issue. She was still cooking and caring for the family.

That intimate connection to food was also evident in Matanane’s father, a CHamoru eater who enjoyed all kinds of cuisines. Matanane was by his side in the kitchen and at the barbecue pit, tasting every bite and becoming just as big a foodie as he was.

The combination of Matanane’s athletic drive, her aunt and dad’s different relationships with food, and her own joy in eating shaped her future career choice. “You put all of those together and come to find out you could major in food and nutrition. It only makes sense.”

Finding and Growing with Jiu Jitsu

By the time Matanane was preparing to head to Hawai’i in 2006 for her bachelor’s, she had already undergone bilateral knee surgery from years of “playing everything.” That’s when a friend introduced her to Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Matanane was intrigued by the martial art, particularly because size didn’t matter as much as it did in the previous sports she played. “We’re all the same height lying down,” someone told her, and for an athlete used to being on the smaller side, that mattered.

Jiu jitsu, much like nutrition, rewards technique, dedication, and consistency. From the moment Matanane put on a white belt and tried her first class, she was hooked, and it wasn’t long before her professional career progressed alongside her jiu jitsu career.

She earned her blue belt during undergrad, came home to work and earned her purple, returned to Hawai’i and earned her master’s and her brown. When she moved permanently back to Guam in 2019, she was a licensed dietitian, a first-time mother, and a newly minted black belt under Figo'/Bonsai’s Luis and Elijah Reyes.

“That's why I call jiu jitsu my minor,” Matanane jokes. “Every step of my professional journey has been a chapter of my jiu jitsu journey as well.”

Building Safe Spaces

As one of Guam’s few female jiu jitsu black belts, Matanane strives to make the sport welcoming and accessible, as she believes that “jiu jitsu might not be for everyone, but it can be for anyone.” She especially advocates for more women to join and is the driving force behind Guam’s female open mats, quarterly meet ups that bring together women from jiu jitsu gyms across the island.

The goal is to carve out a safe space for women of all backgrounds and experiences—those who are often the minority in their gym, newcomers stepping out of their comfort zone, mothers returning after childbirth, ladies who feel out of shape or who just need a way back because, as Matanane knows from personal experience, life happens.

The open mats have been successful, with more and more women coming each time to build camaraderie, connection, and most importantly, a sense of belonging.

A Complementary Lifestyle

Although busy, the different aspects of Matanane’s lifestyle are also complementary. Training is an outlet for when work and home responsibilities intensify. Her UOG job helps support her family and her travel to off-island competitions. When teammates ask Matanane for advice, she shares both her nutrition expertise and her own experiences.

The story Matanane often tells is of her first tournament after having her eldest daughter. She and a teammate were both actively breastfeeding at the time, so she prepared by applying sports and maternity nutrition principles to ensure they made weight safely while nourishing their babies. At the winners’ podium, Matanane proudly received her gold medal while holding her daughter—and then hurried off just in time for her next feeding.

For Matanane, the key has always been giving her all to whatever she is doing.

Goals for the Gold

While continuing to balance competing and coaching, classroom teaching and community outreach, motherhood and mentorship, Matanane dreams big. She envisions jiu jitsu finally being in the Olympics and world champions representing Guam. Whether she is on that international stage herself or coaching her students—or possibly even her daughters—the road to achieving that goal remains the same.

“Stay ready and keep evolving,” says Matanane. Her words ring true, whether they are practiced on the mats, in the kitchen, in the classroom, or in the spaces where community is built, one choice at a time.