From severe stroke to award winning Jiu-Jitsu competitor

Jamain Waretini with his recent Heroic Jiu Jitsu medal hauls.

Weighing more than 140 kg, Dannevirke man Jamain Waretini was concerned he was too overweight to enjoy life.

However, that all changed after he joined Heroic Jiu-Jitsu Academy in 2021.

Waretini’s jiu-jitsu path hasn’t been an easy one, going from a country-wide Covid lockdown to suffering from a severe stroke, leaving him disabled and unable to do the basics – sit up, walk, talk or feed himself.

He said it was a very scary situation, especially when medical specialists feared he might not survive.

Falling in love with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) before his stroke, Waretini was dedicated to teaching himself all the skills he had lost with a very detailed recovery programme.

Slowly gaining his speech back, his first word spoken aloud was “jitsu.”

His wife Aimee-Lee said the sport “has kept him motivated and acted as a good escape for him”.

Nine months after his stroke, Waretini competed in the December 2022 BJJ Wellington No-Gi Regional competition, where he won a White Belt 100+kg Silver Medal and White Belt Absolute Champion.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition categories are:

• No Gi – fought in limited apparel (shorts and top)
• Gi - fought in uniform
• Absolute – Open weight

Continuing to compete, in March 2023, he earned the title of White Belt Ultra Heavy Champion (No Gi) at the Wellington Summer Scramble, following it up in August that year with the title of White Belt Ultra Heavy Champion (Gi).

In October 2023, Waretini received his Blue Belt. Four days later, he became the NZ Grappler National Blue Belt Champion in the Gi-Ultra Heavy Division.

This year the Dannevirke man is still going strong with his BJJ, recently earning a Silver Medal in the Gi Blue Belt Ultra Heavy Division and a Bronze No Gi Blue Belt Ultra Heavy Division at the Oceanic Open Championship in Auckland,

Jaron Vince, the head coach at HEROIC Jiu-Jitsu, said Waretini who he calls ‘Pun’ “is the epitome of resilience and the essence of what our HEROIC Jiu-Jitsu Academy is all about – he has faced a lot of adversity in the past three years he has been practising”.

“He is present at almost every class, comes in early to warm up, listens to instruction, has an inquisitive mind, and is a valued training partner—being both strong and technical,” Vince said

Waretini first joined the jiu-jitsu gym to help him lose weight. While he has gained many new skills, he has lost 40kg and is currently sitting at 114 kg, which is still classed as a super heavyweight.

“There is no real secret to getting better at jiu-jitsu, or anything for that matter; you have to show up - and Pun shows up,” Vince said.

Dave Murdoch is a part-time photo journalist based in Dannevirke. For the last 11 years, he has covered any community storytelling the good news about the district.