Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Professor Mark Entrata Is Flipping the Script on Power and Protection
Through self-defense classes for women and a philosophy grounded in care, humility, and respect, Mark Entrata is proving that safety is power—and a vital part of wellness.
In the middle of Metro Manila, inside a mat-covered room where sweat, strategy, and quiet respect hang heavy in the air, professor Mark Entrata is asking an unexpected question: “If your wife wanted to do jiu-jitsu—or your daughter, your sister—would you feel safe if they trained here?”
Shaira Luna
It’s not rhetorical. Entrata has spent nearly 25 years in the jiu-jitsu community, long enough to know the answer could be a no. And in a sport where domination, submission, and hierarchy can attract both honor and harm, he’s spent his career using the discipline to equip women with real-world self-defense strategies, and fighting for a more honest version of empowerment.
At Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Manila, one of the country’s most inclusive jiu-jitsu academies, the culture pushes the answer closer to a resounding yes, not just through policies but through an intentional culture of humility, consistency, and care. That culture extends beyond the academy’s walls: Alliance regularly offers free self-defense classes for women, a gesture that reflects their belief that safety is a form of wellness. The classes aren’t just about learning to fight back. They’re about helping women feel more at home in their bodies, their decisions, and their environments.
“The way we do things is that everyone’s equal,” he says. But he knows equality isn’t always the norm in martial arts spaces. “It may feel uncomfortable for women at first. So, women can only train with other women in the beginning. If they feel later on that they’re comfortable already, it’s still their choice.”
That choice is key to the academy’s ethos. And when a woman does decide to spar with a man, Entrata carefully selects their partner. “Guys I’ve known for at least five years,” he adds as a matter of fact.
What he’s building isn’t just an academy—it’s a place to practice strategy, strength, and self-awareness. “Actually,” he laughs, “we resemble more of a book club than a fight club.” It’s a mix of artists, musicians, doctors, and lawyers—not a brooding, “macho” space, but one rooted in mutual respect and vulnerability.
Shaira Luna
“The way we do things is that everyone’s equal.”
This attitude is no accident. Entrata’s approach is deliberate, especially for beginners. “We make it fun first. If it’s not fun, we’re not going to retain it.” Students begin with self-defense—something “more familiar,” he says—before they’re introduced to the more technical and competitive elements of the sport. The method works: His academy consistently sees 15 to 20 women enrolled at a time, a rare sight in the local jiu-jitsu scene.
But more than the drills or the discipline, Entrata believes that jiu-jitsu is a metaphor, particularly for womanhood and survival. At the Alliance, you’ll find small-framed female brown belts going toe-to-toe with heavier, stronger men, and coming out on top. Not because they overpower them, but because they out-think them. “With jiu-jitsu, a lot of strategy comes in. You cannot fight strength versus strength. [The winning fighter isn’t always the strongest]—it’s the one [who’s] smarter,” he explains, proving that strategy can sometimes trump strength, on and off the mat.
“If you do not address your weak points,” he says, “you will always fall into the same traps.” And that, to Entrata, is the truest expression of strength. Not invulnerability, but in emotional regulation, and the clarity to make decisions not rooted in fear, but in trust. “Most of the bad things that happen in life,” he adds, “they come from decisions made in emotion. Jiu-jitsu helps you regulate.”
Character, he believes, is the highest measure of martial arts. Not rank, belt, or title. “It’s not your status. It doesn’t matter how good your jiu-jitsu is. [If you aren’t a good person], your jiu-jitsu is useless. You’re part of the problem of this world.”
Shaira Luna
So while the takedowns, chokes, and arm locks are part of the training, the deeper work is always about building the kind of strength that extends off the mat. The kind of strength that makes it easier to say no, to walk away, to stand up, to protect—not just the body, but the mind and spirit too. Because for Entrata, it’s not just about teaching women to defend themselves. It’s about building a world where they never have to.
And if you’d like to experience this firsthand, Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Manila is opening its doors for a special event: A FREE Women’s Empowerment Workshop on September 28, Sunday from 5 to 7 P.M. at Valle Verde Country Club. Sign up here.
Makeup and grooming: Emman Magpantay. Hair: JA Feliciano. Styling: Joy Bernardo and Jolo Bayoneta of StyLIZed Studio. Clothing: Harold Quisumbing Sarabia Tonyo Polo Barong in White. Cos Brown Wool Trouser. Prodigy Earl Loafers in Mahogany.
