Ju-jitsu Youth World Championships 2025

The Ju-Jitsu Youth World Championships returned in November 2025 with all the colour, noise and intensity you expect when the next generation of fighters take over the global stage. For more than a week Bangkok’s Indoor Stadium Huamark was transformed into a sea of tatami, national flags and nervous coaches as athletes in the U16, U18 and U21 divisions battled for world titles under the banner of the Ju-Jitsu International Federation (JJIF).

Hosted as part of a larger World Championships festival that also included the senior and para worlds and a World Cup for U14, the youth event marked the second half of JJIF’s Bangkok “double header”. Senior athletes had just finished their own campaigns in the same arena; barely had the medal podium been cleared before the juniors and youths marched in, determined to show that the sport’s future is in very safe – and very aggressive – hands.

A world stage for the next generation

The Youth World Championships gathered hundreds of competitors from every JJIF continent. The format mirrored the senior worlds: three primary disciplines – Fighting System, Ne-Waza (grappling) and Duo – across the age bands U16, U18 and U21 for both men and women. Bouts ran in parallel on multiple mats from early morning until late evening as brackets in each category were whittled down to the final four.

Bangkok proved a fitting host. The Indoor Stadium Huamark, already tested by major volleyball and combat sports events, offered steep stands that kept the crowd close to the action and acoustics that turned every sweep, throw and submission attempt into a roar. Outside, food stalls and team tents created a festival atmosphere, while inside the arena the JJIF production team delivered slick livestreams and instant replays to fans around the world.

For many athletes this was their first taste of a truly global championship. You could see it in the nervy opening exchanges on day one, especially among the U16 fighters, but also in the way they grew into the moment: sharper timing, smarter tactics, and a willingness to take risks once the first bout was out of the way. Coaches talked often about “experience points” – even an early exit here can be the foundation for a senior world medal a few years down the line.

International storylines: UAE, Europe and Asia shine

On the medals table, several traditional powerhouses lived up to their reputations. The United Arab Emirates, whose national jiu-jitsu programme has become a model for youth development, once again converted depth into podium results. The UAE women’s U21 team added a full set of medals – gold, silver and bronze – on one of the competition days, contributing to a tally that had reached ten medals overall (three gold, four silver and three bronze) by the middle of the tournament.

Gold medallist Alanood Alharbi dominated the 48 kg division with confident stand-up and relentless passing on the ground, while teammates Aysha Alshamsi and Mariam Al-Ali shared silver and bronze in the 45 kg category after impressive runs of their own. Their success underlined the growing strength of women’s ju-jitsu, particularly in countries that invest heavily in school and academy programmes.

Elsewhere, European nations continued to demonstrate balance across all three disciplines. Southern and Eastern European teams produced explosive Fighting System specialists, while grapplers from traditional jiu-jitsu and BJJ hubs in Western Europe and Latin America made their presence felt in Ne-Waza. Asian teams from Thailand, the Philippines and Kazakhstan capitalised on shorter travel and familiar conditions to push deep into multiple brackets, adding to the sense that youth ju-jitsu is now genuinely global rather than concentrated in a handful of countries.

The Swedish perspective: youth stepping into the spotlight

From a Swedish point of view, Bangkok was much more than a learning trip. Coming straight off a highly successful senior world championships – where Sweden celebrated multiple medals – the Youth Worlds offered a chance to test the next wave of blue-and-yellow talent on the same mats and under the same pressure.

The Swedish junior squad featured a compact but ambitious group across U18 and U21. In fighting, U18 athletes Willhelm Wendt (-77 kg) and Gustaf Wennbladh (-85 kg) took on stacked brackets loaded with European and Middle Eastern opposition, while in U21 the trio of Linnea Woxenius (-52 kg), Livia Högbom (-57 kg) and Toni Beljo (-77 kg) carried the flag into the older age group.

It was Wendt who produced the breakthrough moment. Showing the same dynamic style that has made him a standout on the European circuit, he stormed through the U18 -77 kg Fighting System division. After tactically mature early wins, Wendt raised his level again in the semi-final, combining clean throws with sharp groundwork transitions to secure a place in the gold-medal match. In the final he controlled the pace from the opening exchange, staying composed under pressure and capitalising on every scoring opportunity. When the final buzzer sounded he had secured Sweden’s first youth world title of the week – junior world gold in U18 -77 kg.

Sweden’s celebration got even louder when Kimon Christoforidis added a silver medal in the -85 kg category. In a brutally physical division, Christoforidis navigated three hard fights to reach the final, mixing heavy hands in the stand-up phase with intelligent grip-fighting and counters on the ground. The title match slipped away by the narrowest of margins, but the performance underlined his status as one of the most exciting Swedish prospects in the heavier youth weight classes.

Behind the medals there were important steps forward for the rest of the squad. Wennbladh delivered strong performances in the same U18 heavyweight bracket, while Woxenius and Högbom gained valuable mat time in U21 against seasoned opponents who already have senior experience in their home countries. Beljo, competing at -77 kg in U21, gave as good as he got in a division often viewed as one of the deepest and most tactical in the championship. Even where the scoreboard didn’t go Sweden’s way, the technical level and fighting spirit drew praise from coaches and neutral observers alike.

National coach Tobias Back and his staff emphasised long-term development as much as the immediate medal count. With senior world and European medals already hanging around the necks of Swedish stars like Emma Lette and others, the aim in Bangkok was to ensure there is a pipeline of athletes ready to step into those roles in the next Olympic cycle and beyond. The gold-and-silver haul from Wendt and Christoforidis is a clear sign that strategy is on track, and the wider squad’s performances suggest more podiums are within reach in coming seasons.

Youth Worlds as part of a bigger picture

One of the striking things about this year’s Youth World Championships was how integrated it felt within the JJIF’s overall vision for the sport. The scheduling – seniors and para first, followed by juniors and youths, then a World Cup for U14 – created a sense of progression you could literally watch from the stands. Young fighters sat in the arena during the senior finals, absorbing the atmosphere; a week later they were the ones stepping onto the same podium.

For countries like Sweden, where national federations work closely with clubs and with umbrella organisations such as the Swedish Budo & Martial Arts Federation, that pathway is becoming more and more defined. A talented teenager might first appear at domestic events, then move into Nordic and European competition, and eventually find themselves under the bright lights of a world championships in places like Bangkok. The stories written at youth level here – whether it’s a first match won on the international stage or a world title like Wendt’s – are the foundation for the headlines that will follow at senior level.

As the mats were packed away and teams drifted out into the Bangkok night, the 2025 Youth World Championships left a clear message: ju-jitsu’s future is in very good hands. The technical level continues to climb, the geographical spread of talent widens every year, and nations such as Sweden are proving that with the right structures, a small squad can still make a huge impact on the biggest stage. For Kampsportsnews readers, the names coming out of Bangkok this November – Wendt, Christoforidis, Woxenius, Högbom, Beljo and their teammates – are ones to remember. The next time the World Championships roll around, don’t be surprised if some of these “juniors” are the ones carrying Sweden’s colours into the senior finals.