Charlotte Von Baumgarten is a big up and comer In European BJJ. At the 2013 Europeans, after winning the purple belt lightweight division, the 25 year old German athlete from Alliance Berlin also conquered the absolute. Charlotte talked to BJJ Eastern Europe about her her Jiu-Jitsu story and her future plans. Watch out for her in the future:
Hi Charlotte, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe?
Hi, my name is Charlotte von Baumgarten, I am a 25 years old purple belt from Berlin. I train under Ulf Ehlert here in Berlin for about 6 years. With his help I could win the European Championship in white (weight 2009) , blue (weight&absolute 2010) and purple belt (weight&absolute 2013). Another highlight was the qualification for the Abu Dhabi Pro 2011,
where I won the Rio de Janeiro trial.
What’s your Jiu-Jitsu story?
I started practicing martial arts 10 years ago in my hometown in south germany, training Kickboxing and Muay Thai. When I moved to Berlin I got in touch with BJJ and since then I am crazy for that sport… At that time I got a lot of inspirtation from my teammates and my instructor Ulf training still at Budokan Berlin. Watching the “Arte Suave” movie, I really wanted to travel to Brazil to train there. So that is what I did and I spend a really good time in Rio de Janeiro and in Sao Paulo, training hard.
Please guide us through your performance at the 2013 Europeans where you took double gold at purple belt.
The euros were a great success for me and I had some really hard fights. Specially the very first fight in my division against Eirin from Norway was more than tough. I can hardly remember anything about the fight, just how incredibly exhausted I was after… But for luck there was enough waiting time to recover and I could finish the second fight quick and after that I had a good flow again. I also really liked the final fight in the absolute, where I faced a featherweight girl, who also fought her way through a division with much heavier opponents.
Please tell us about your academy and where you train?
I train with my instructor Ulf Ehlert and the support from Alliance team here in Berlin. Ulf is a really good teacher for BJJ, who gave me a lot of motivation to study Jiu Jitsu. Every single class you can learn something new and inspiring with him and even if he is a real heavyweight, I love his style and smoothness of fighting. Very unfortunately, back in the days of Budokan Berlin we used to be a bigger team but it came to a split. Since then everything got more difficult for me, since my teacher is at one place, but a lot of my friends and training partners are in another.
We don’t hear too often about German BJJ players, which doesn’t make sense since Germany had one of the first black belts in Europe (Michael haselein). How do you explain that BJJ hasn’t developed as much in Germany as in other European countries?
Uh that is good question… I think there are many reasons involved, one of them might be that there is no MMA shown in german TV, whereas in other counties Jiu Jitsu got more popular through the UFC shows. It is hard to tell… But I am sure Jiu Jitsu is on the rise, also here in Germany.
You have also fought in MMA. What sport is your priority at the moment and why?
My priority is Jiu Jitsu at the moment. I would like to keep up training stand up and MMA, but I always feel bad to put back the Jiu Jitsu for it. So at the moment it is only BJJ for me.
Which BJJ players do you admire or look up to?
I admire Luanna Alzuguir. She is not only a great fighter, but she also has very good skills in teaching Jiu Jitsu. When she gave a seminar in Berlin before the Europeans she was really big inspiration for me. In terms of technique and strength and also mental determination. She is great!
What is next in 2013 for you? Will we see you at the big world tournaments?
Of course I would like to go to all the big competitions, but it is too expensive to get there…
But for sure I will compete in Rome in June and at the Finish Open where one can win a flight to the worlds. So maybe maybe…
If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free
I would like to thank my training partners and friends for all the training, support and company at all the comps, where we keep travelling and fighting together.
Also big thanks to all the Berlin BJJ schools for the great training and the coherence! And of course Ulf, Ringside Gym and Urban Gladiators, THANK YOU!!!
Thanks Charlotte and all the best!
Osss!
