INNISFAIL – Three siblings have taken their Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to the world stage.
Bethany Day, 12, and her two brothers, Andrew, 10, and Luke, 8, recently returned from the 2019 Kids International IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Las Vegas, held Aug. 21-24.
The event is hosted by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and features competitors from all over the world.
Bethany brought home a silver medal and Andrew earned a bronze in their respective categories. Luke competed but did not medal in the event.
“It was super cool and it was fun,” said Andrew. “I like competing.”
Brother Luke agreed. “It was fun and challenging,” he said.
Bethany had no one in her age bracket competing at the worlds, so in order for her to take part she had to move up to the 14-year-old girls' category and face off against older and heavier participants.
“I like that it’s a physical game and a mental game. You have to be really mentally strong about (the sport),” said Bethany. “I could move up (an age category) or just not compete at all but I wanted to compete.”
It was the trio’s first world championships, which they qualified for after placing at the provincial Brazilian jiu-jitsu championships in May.
All three of them brought home hardware including a gold medal and provincial championship title for Bethany, a silver for Andrew and a bronze for Luke.
“We would start at the local tournaments from Red Deer to (tournaments in) Edmonton and Calgary,” said Andrew. “Then we had to go to provincials.
“You definitely have to have confidence,” added Bethany. “You have to know your moves and know what you’re going to do. Practising year-round definitely helps.”
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art similar to judo and wrestling and focuses on grappling.
The siblings have been learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu for several years, and are members of the Arashi Do Central Alberta competition team. One of their several coaches is Innisfail High School principal Wayne Pineau.
“We practise at home every day and we have lessons four times a week,” said Bethany. “(Pineau) really appreciates how we do in tournaments. He likes to talk about it and he teaches us what we need to work on after.”
“He teaches us new stuff,” added Luke.
All three siblings said they learned much from their first world championship experience and want to improve and work towards qualifying for next year’s event.
“You win or you learn. You don’t really lose because you learn from losing,” said Bethany. “We’re going to keep practising and keep going.”
