Hold Down Brazilian jiu jitsu and MMA competitor Jewel Samuel.
Hold Down Brazilian jiu jitsu and MMA competitor Jewel Samuel.
Northland east coast jiu-jitsu club is celebrating its recent success at the national championship after only two and half years of existence.
The “Hold Down” club has attracted a range of people including women and men competitors ranging from five years old to over 60, said owner and head coach Jonathan Woodhead.
“We took a team of 24 including adults and kids, which was one of the biggest teams there and then we had probably 40 to 50 supporters as well,” Woodhead said.
The competing team came 10th in the best academy rankings out of 73 and created 7 national champions, as well as taking home 15 medals in total.
Woodhead began “Hold Down” after the first Covid lockdown, focusing on Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA in Bream Bay and Mangawhai in Northland.
“Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a mixture between judo and wrestling, which also is extremely useful for self-defence and MMA because all the points-scoring positions are from the best position you can strike from. So it’s very well rounded.”
The club has a free MMA class on a Wednesday and a Saturday for the local youth and is hoping to bring programmes into local schools eventually.
Hold Down Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA club in Bream Bay and Mangawhai.
“In Ruakākā we run a bit of a programme where younger kids can train. If they show potential and are willing they can train for free. It’s kind of like us putting a bit more back into the community.”
Woodhead said members of the club bond over their enjoyment of combat sports and surfing and try to pass the skills down to younger people.
“We try to encourage the young people that there is a healthier way of life.
“I’ve had a few kids that came that had been getting bullied at school and stuff like that and you know just kind of tried to give them a bit of confidence.”
Woodhead said the club is a community and its doors are always open to new members and to children.
“The biggest thing I’ve found (it helped) people with is their mental health because when you’re grappling on the mats, you can’t think of anything else and it takes people out of their lives.
“Especially with everything that we’ve just been through, I’ve noticed in the local youth there are a lot of mental health issues around and I want people to just know that there are people out there that are wanting to help.”
The club has seen exponential growth in adults and kids classes mainly through word of mouth, Woodhead said.
“We’ve got high-end business people, two kids homeschool kids, you know, I like that. And they’ve all got their reasons for training.
“My plan is to take a team to worlds at some point which is in America. That’s a goal of mine.”
