Penticton’s Goes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club returned with five gold, three silver and one bronze medal from a provincial championship in Burnaby.
That success helped the club take third overall in adult no-gi jiu-jitsu.
Summerland’s Greg Nield won the provincial absolute blue belt championship and took gold in super-heavyweight no-gi.
He also picked up silver in men’s super-heavyweight no-gi and bronze in super-heavyweight. Nield is the 2012 blue belt provincial champion, the 2013 western Canadian champion and a bronze medalist at the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
Nield, who has trained at Goes Penticton for three years, said he did pretty good as he was focused on winning.
“I would have liked to have done a little bit better,” said Nield, who became sick prior to the championship. I maybe wasn’t at my best performance, but everyone has stuff to deal with. I’m happy with it.”
He was pleased to help the club with its overall finish and said it’s a big deal for their small club.
“I always enjoy these events. A lot of these competitors, they are really nice guys,” he said.
Last year in provincials, Nield earned a silver in the absolute blue belt.
“The guy that beat me in my weight category, I ended up getting a second shot at him because I did manage to get bronze in my weight category,” he explained of this year’s rematch. “He got gold. We faced off in the final for the open. I ended up beating him.”
Nield said the quality of competitors was pretty good, but added he never knows who will attend.
Also winning for the club was Penticton’s Clay Davidson taking the provincial heavyweight purple belt no-gi championship and a silver medal in purple belt absolute no-gi. Davidson is a professional mixed martial arts fighter with a record of 8-5 and the 2011 FILA world combat grappling champion.
The club also witnessed outstanding performances by Michael Poon, who won gold in white belt juvenile featherweight, Mason Poon, who won silver in blue belt juvenile featherweight and Joseph Veltri, winning gold in adult white belt rooster weight.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling-based martial art. Competition matches are decided by either submissions such as arm locks, leg locks and choke holds or by points awarded for successful use of grappling technique. Matches can take place in either the traditional kimono, which is also called a gi, or in shorts and a rash guard, which is referred to as no-gi Jiu-Jitsu.
Fighters compete in their own weight class and medalists are eligible to enter the absolute division, which pits the top athletes from each weight class against each other.