Sienna Lloyd was one of eight gold medallists from Kaitāia’s Torque International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club at the recent Northern Championship.
Sienna Lloyd was one of eight gold medallists from Kaitāia’s Torque International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club at the recent Northern Championship.
After humble beginnings just 15 months ago, a Kaitāia Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club is celebrating a huge haul of medals - including eight golds - from a national competition.
Fabio Machado opened the Torque International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club in May last year, with a handful of students, but with big dreams after he competed internationally himself in the martial arts discipline before moving to New Zealand.
Machado said when he set up the club he wanted to introduce Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the Far North as a way for the area’s youth to learn a new sport that was based around discipline and respect.
He said the combat sport teaches self control and skills and disciplines that can be used in all aspects of life.
Kaitāia Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club student Niwa Hunt won gold at the Northern Championship.
It aims to help children grow in confidence, improve social skills and build positive relationships, potentialise individual and team work, and develop good manners. Children also achieve great potential by learning more advanced self-defence techniques, enhancing coordination and motor skills resulting in better self-esteem.
After initial interest in the club - 14 students turned up for the first day and only one had any experience - it has expanded and it recently returned from the open national Northern Championships in Auckland with a staggering eight gold medals, two silver and two bronze for its 14 competitors.
Ayla Pena wins gold at the Northern Championship.
As well, Machado said, this could be the first time a sports club, team or association has taken home eight gold medals from a single relatively big tournament.
‘’We also achieved the best ratio of wins over losses. A great achievement for a club that’s only been around since May last year.’’
He said after starting small, more and more people started coming to the club andnow a core group of students are relishing competing against other students from around the country - and he hopes some will be able to compete internationally in the future.
‘’It’s been really interesting watching them develop. I’ve enjoyed them getting to that ‘wow’ moment when they realise that they can do this and compete against others. They have really embraced that and they want to achieve.’’
Ashtyn Waru won a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gold medal.
And achieve they have, with Machado saying there was no limits to how far some of his students could go.
The next step is to take up to 20 students to compete in the NZ Nationals at the end of October in Auckland.
Torque International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club results at Northern Championships:
GOLD
(Family of Gold - Dad, mum and daughter)
Jacob Burton; Casey Burton and Sariah Burton, 9.
(Mum and daughter Golds) - Ayla Pena and Ashtyn Waru, 9.
The Burton family - Sariah, 9, mum Casey and dad Jacob all won gold medals at the Northern Championship for Kaitāia’s Torque International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club.
The two students who represented well but didn’t achieve a medal were Blake Rapley and Ashton Wiessing.
But the experience has served Wiessing well, who last weekend competed at the Wellington Regional Open competition and won all his fights to take out the gold medal there.
Machado is a black belt 4th Dan in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black belt in judo and Brazilian wrestling (Luta Livre Esportiva). He became World (twice), South American (once) and International Master (once) bronze medallist.
He was the Rio de Janeiro State Champion, King of Rio and Rio de Janeiro top ranking in 2016.
He also won the NZ Judo North Island regionals and a bronze medal in the NZ Judo Nationals and in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan Pacific in 2019. Machado is also a teacher at Kaitāia College.
Kaitāia’s Torque International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club team, with supporters, at the recent Northern Championship where the team brought back eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
What is Brazilian jiu jitsu?
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting, and submission holds. BJJ approaches self-defence by emphasising taking opponentz to the ground, gaining a dominant position, and using a number of techniques to force them into submission via joint locks or chokeholds.
BJJ revolves around the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves against a bigger, stronger, heavier opponent by using leverage and weight distribution, taking the fight to the ground and using a number of holds and submissions to defeat them. BJJ training can be used for sport grappling and self-defence.
