18-year-old Jayda Fulp is living her dreams, excelling in the sport she loves: Judo.

When you meet 18-year-old Jayda Fulp, you’re almost blinded by her megawatt smile. The TCU pre-med student with a bubbly personality has an alter-ego on the Judo mat.

“She’s a totally different person on the mat,” Fulp’s mom, Allie Fulp, said, scrolling through Judo photos and videos on her phone. “I was the mom, like, ‘That doesn’t hurt! Let’s keep going!’, so I think it made her tough, too.”

“I wanted to do a sport,” Fulp said, recalling her start in the martial arts at 9 years old. “I was doing track at first, and I just didn’t like track, so my grandpa just kinda got me into it.”

“When I first met her, she was 10 years old,” USA Judo National Team Coach Carrie Chandler said. “She was just this shy

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