Rose El Sharouni - 2022 #1 AJP European Player

Rose El Sharouni is a BJJ black belt under Leonardo Vieira. She represents CheckMat Jiu Jitsu in international competitions. Sharouni is the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She is one of the top BJJ fighters in the light featherweight division and became the AJP Tour’s Best European Player in 2022.

Sharouni was born in Heerlen, Netherlands on September 28, 1991. Later, she moved to Utrecht, Netherlands.

Sharouni started judo when she was six years old.

When Sharouni turned 12 years old, she gladly quit judo to start practicing Japanese jiu-jitsu.

After falling in love with BJJ, Sharouni initially decided to practice it as a hobby rather than pursue a professional career. She started training under Mathieu Peters.

Sharouni enrolled at a medical school around the time she became a blue belt. While doing an internship at a hospital, Sharouni continued to train and compete in BJJ. She managed to balance practicing BJJ with the tough hours spent working at the hospital. Even when working at the hospital residency, Sharouni managed to win the IBJJF European Open Championship.

Kiren Newadj and Remo Corstjens are BJJ black belts who helped Sharouni found Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy Amsterdam became partnered with CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu. Newadj and Corstjens have been teaching BJJ since before they became black belts and still actively competes in BJJ tournaments. Newadj is currently studying to earn a Master of Science in Engineering degree.

In 2015, Sharouni founded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy as a blue belt alongside Newadj and Corstjens. Thanks to Sharouni’s reputation, many adults and children joined Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy Amsterdam after opening.

Ladies Only BJJ was founded by Johanna Tavares and Sharouni after they met at the 2014 IBJJF British Open Championship in London. This association’s goal is to help train and empower women interested in learning BJJ. Tavares and Sharouni have conducted training camps worldwide over the years. In 2017, Tavares and Sharouni held their first training camp.  Ladies Only BJJ later had its named changed to Queenz Jiu-Jitsu.Queenz Jiu-Jitsu’s motto is

In 2022, Sharouni finally decided to pursue BJJ professionally. Inspired by her time spent at the BJJ training camps, Sharouni decided to take a break from her medical career.

When Sharouni turned 16, she attended a BJJ seminar. After watching practitioners sparring and training in BJJ, Sharouni transitioned to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It was basically a BJJ workshop that was conducted at Sharouni’s gym. She participated in the first workshop and greatly loved the sport.

At the 2015 IBJJF European Open Championship, Sharouni won first place as a blue belt.

At the 2018 IBJJF World Championship, Sharouni won third place as a brown belt.

On July 14, 2019, Sharouni was promoted to a BJJ black belt by Leonardo Vieira.

At the 2023 IBJJF Pan Championship, Sharouni won second place as a black belt.

At the 2021 Abu Dhabi World Pro, Sharouni won second place.

In 2022, Sharouni was ranked as the #1 AJP European Player after her performance at the 2022 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship.

Serena Gabrielli is an Italian BJJ black belt under Andre Verdemare and an instructor at the Flo Jiu-Jitsu Academy. At the 2019 IBJJF Rome Fall Open Championship, Sharouni competed against Gabrielli in the finals. From the ground, Sharouni took the dominant position and tightened her grip on Gabrielli. However, while Sharouni had the dominant position, Gabrielli had wrapped her leg around Sharouni’s arm to keep the latter from finishing the submission. In the last minute of the match, Sharouni submitted Gabrielli via an Ezekiel choke.

Chelsea Leah is a multiple-time IBJJF World Champion. At the 2022 Enyo Grappling, Sharouni started the fight by executing a double guard that took Leah to the ground. Sharouni had a tight grip on the sleeves of Leah’s gi that restricted her movement and the techniques she could execute. During the match, neither Sharouni d nor Leah could score a point. In the end, Sharouni won the fight via decision. This became the only fight Sharouni would ever win via decision.

At the 2019 IBJJF London Fall Open Championship, Sharouni competed against Georgina Contel Gallego. At the start, Contel went right for Sharouni and caught her in a guard position. Sharouni tried to apply an armbar, but Contel manged to escape and tightened her grip. Clearly aware of Sharouni’s fighting style, Contel constantly shifted and maintained her grip, turning Sharouni’s technique against her. However, Sharouni managed to lift Contel off the ground and slam her onto the mat. Eventually, Sharouni submitted Contel via an Ezekiel choke in 9 minutes and 26 seconds.

Sharouni is adept at grip control, having exceptional grip strength when holding onto her opponents’ sleeves and collars. Her grip strength also has helped her escape from submissions.

• Three-Time IBJJF World Medalist
• IBJJF European Open Medallist
• IBJJF Pans Championship Medalist
• Two-Time World Pro Silver Medalist
• 2022 AJP Best European Player

Rose Marie el Sharouni VS Serena Gabrielli / Rome Fall Open 2019

Chelsea Leah vs Rose El Sharouni: Enyo Grappling August 2022

Ana Rodrigues vs Rose El Sharouni- Final 55kg Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship 21

Rose Marie Sharouni VS Georgina Gallego / London Fall Open 2019

Mayssa Bastos v Rose-Marie Sharouni / European 2022

Photo Credit: @rose.jiujitsu