Ballina martial arts academy medals in national and international events

Two martial artists from Ballina have won silver in the World Masters Brazilian jiu jitsu competition in Las Vegas, while four local juniors have also starred. Here are the details.

A Ballina martial arts academy has shown its credentials - with athletes starring at national and international competition.

Four athletes from the school competed at the World Masters Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition during August and September at Las Vegas, while a team of local juniors shone at the Australian Nationals in Melbourne.

One of the largest martial arts competitions in the world, the World Masters attracts athletes from around the globe all vying for the title of champion.

Portal Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy’s team comprised head coach and owner David Moreira, coach Zareena May, and students Vikki Georges and Ben Williams.

Portal World Masters Competition team from left – David Moreira, Zareena May, Vikki Georges and Ben Williams.

Holly McLean said the performance of the athletes was stellar with the ladies bringing home silver in each of their divisions; black and blue belt.

“The competition was televised via a streaming platform ‘Flo Grappling’ so we were all able to cheer and scream at the tv from over here,” Ms McLean said.

The support crew were up at 5am to watch and cheer on their friends.

“Even though you compete as an individual, jiu jitsu really is a team sport.

“We have all trained together for a long time and so we really felt all the excitement of the day and the emotion that goes along with a competition of this level.”

Results:

Professor David (instructors are called professor in Jiu Jitsu) fought in light feather, black belt, master 2

Zareena May was a silver medallist, Master 5 light weight, black belt division

Vikki Georges a silver medallist, Master 5, feather weight, blue belt division; and

Ben Williams fought in Master 2, blue belt, middle weight.

Unfortunately the men had a really tough fight and didn’t make it to the semi-finals.

Left: Silver Medalist – Zareena May from Portal Jiu Jitsu in Ballina at the World Masters competition in Las Vegas, USA.

Professor Zareena fought her way to the finals and took the silver.

She said she was happy with her performance especially being able to conquer pre-match anxiety and display a good level of jiu jitsu which matched world standard.

“I am a little bit disappointed about my final fight that I lost but really happy to get there and proud of the silver medal,” Zareena said.

“In the first match where I was down on points and it was halfway through the match, I did not give up even though I was losing.

“There is always still the chance that you can get back so it’s a belief in myself and my motivation to push through that enabled me to come back and win the fight.”

She said that understanding “your game” and the techniques that fit into it was critical.

“It is not necessary to pick up all the techniques and try to use all the techniques but rather understanding your body type and your game and what fits into that is really important to improve your jiu jitsu,” she said.

Left: Silver Medalist – Vikki Georges, from Portal Jiu Jitsu in Ballina at the World Masters competition in Las Vegas, USA.

Vikki Georges submitted her way through the first and second rounds, moving into the finals.

“It was an amazing final match, it was so close right up to the last second with her opponent taking the win on points,” Ms McLean said.

As her first ever competition, an international one at that, Vikki said she was surprised to do so well.

“I didn‘t know how I would go,” she said, “I remember just before stepping on to the mats and having all the tension leave my body.”

With support from her coaches, academy family, family and friends, the martial artist took to the mat with confidence.

“It wasn’t about winning or losing on the mats, it was about doing all the work to get there,” Vikki said, “that doesn’t change the way I feel about my sport.

“I am grateful to be able to do something I love. One of my friends coined the phrase ‘joy jitsu’ and I think that’s how I feel about it – joy jitsu.”

Vikki said consistency and tenacity were key.

“I was determined to train as much as I could for the four months leading up to Masters Worlds,” she said.

“I trained even when I was tired, even though my body hurt, even when I wasn’t learning things as quickly as I would like. I just kept going and in the end stepping onto the mats I was confident in my preparation.”

The Ballina athletes next big challenge will be the Pan Pacific International competition scheduled for October in Melbourne.

Ms McLean said the academy is excited to see this international event back on in Australia after Covid stopped so many large sporting events.

Australian Nationals 2022

The Ballina martial arts academy also hauled home the medals from the Australian National Championships in August.

Four athletes travelled to Melbourne - sisters Jessica, 9, and Madison Aslin, 7, each won gold in their division, David Greenhalgh, 14, won silver, and Mischa Frankland, 15, won bronze.

Sisters Jessica Aslin, 9, and Madison Aslin, 7, with their gold medals.at the Australian National Championships in Melbourne.

Jessica Aslin said their coach, Professor David Moreira encouraged the girls to go.

“It was a really fun trip,” Ms Aslin said, “we were very excited to compete against the best kids in Australia.

“We have been training very hard with our coaches Wade, Nathan, Joey, Jack and Amber.

“In Melbourne one of the older students competing, David, helped us during the competition.”

The girls said their training combined with the experience of their coaches got them across the line to take gold in their divisions.

“When we grow up we both want to travel the world playing sport and be professional athletes in both MMA and soccer,” they said.

“We also want to make it to black belt in jiu jitsu and win gold at worlds.”