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Athlete Focus: Adele Fornarino
Author: Hyperfly AU
Athlete Focus: Adele Fornarino
We always believed in Adele’s potential when she joined HYPERFLY family. Since then Adele has been one of the most active female competitors in the Australian Grappling scene. After winning ADCC Oceania & Asian Trials last year and also winning the IBJJF NoGi worlds, Adele showed and proved that she is a world-class athlete and one of Australia’s top competitors. We are truly honoured to support her journey!
How did you start Jiu-Jitsu?
When I was 10 years old I wanted to be a police officer so I decided that martial art would help me with that. I goggle the closes martial arts gym to me, not doing any research on which specific martial art to pick and found dominance which just so happened to be a jiujitsu school. When I started training I loved it and found I was quite naturally talented at it so I never stopped.
We know you qualified for the 2022 ADCC World Championship. What an experience that would’ve been! How did it feel to step against one of the best grapplers in the world?
It was an amazing experience to be out there with some of the best and actually come up against arguably the best female competitor of 2022. It was all definitely at another level. For me, it was an important experience to have as I now know that I’m up there with these girls and I’m excited to go back to trials so I can do it all again only this time even better.
What is the most memorable recent moment in your Jiu-Jitsu competition Career?
ADCC is definitely up there, along with winning Nogi euros and Nogi worlds as a brown belt but a big moment for me was receiving my black belt from my coach David Hart. For me, it always felt so far away until I actually had it.
As a full-time Coach/athlete, staying in shape for your own athlete competition can be very difficult. How do you maintain your body condition/diet/mindset for competing, while looking after all your student's needs?
For me, I make sure I plan out my own training and stick to that plan. I have a minimum number of sessions that I like to hit in a week so I work all that into a weekly plan. My routine stays fairly consistent. I’ll make some changes when I am in camp and a bit closer to the comp itself though. I also surround myself with people that help me with all the training planning and dieting and lifting. I definitely don’t do it all by myself.
Balancing training and coaching, it’s definitely a tough balancing act. I try my best when it’s a scheduled training session for me, to focus on my own goals and aims for that session whilst still motivating the room. When I’m coaching, I make sure to put my attention into my student's needs and goals.
As you know, Jiu-Jitsu is a very hard sport and the dropout rate is very high. What advice would you give to beginners starting Jiu-Jitsu?
Recognise that it is a long process. Don’t go in expecting to be good straight away and try not to get too frustrated when it does take longer to master something than expected. As well as that find good training partners (roughly your side). Culture is such an important part of training and enjoying your training.
How have you enjoyed working with Hyperfly Australia Team?
I love working with the hyperfly team. Not only do they provide me with some of the best gear on the market, but they also support me in achieving my goals. The whole Australian Hyperfly team have very much a family-type vibe where we all look out for one another and support one another in achieving our goals.
Lastly which Hyperfly product would you recommend? What is your favourite out of all?
The Hyperfly leggings are easily the best leggings I’ve ever had. They fit well, are super durable and comfy and most importantly not see through
What are your plans for the future..?
To continue doing what I’m doing. Train hard and compete often. My goal for this year is to break onto the black belt scene and course some big upsets where I can.