Future Bodes well for martial arts club

MILDURA Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has finished the year on a high, placing third at the Savage Grappling event in Melbourne.

The club’s 15 competitors earned six gold, 12 silver and five bronze medals.

The team also won best Kids/teens team for the comp.

After a run of injuries, Bodey Burnham was back to his dominant best, winning five fights without a single point scored against him, for double gold.

“Bodes has had the worst luck with injuries since COVID,” Coach Luke Burnham said.

“When the world shut down that was meant to be his first year of taking on international comps and since we opened up, it’s been one injury after another.

“He was keen to do the comp because it had been so long since he competed.

“There was no one in his weight category so he went up and dominated without having a point scored against him.

“As his coach and his dad, it felt good to see him get out there and be so dominant I was just happy for him.”

In the teen category, Tyler Carter competed in the blue belt division for the first time, winning double gold, finishing four out of five fights by submission.

Meanwhile, Giselle Spencer only lost one fight on the day (to Tyler by two points) and grabbed a gold and silver.

Harmony Baxter also grabbed a gold and a bronze after being elevated two weight divisions.

The kids also put on strong performances, including Ellie McKiernan, who had eight fights and won two silver, and Levi Rose, who also won double silver up against big opponents.

Burnham said the future of the club looked bright after the kids/teens team placed first again.

“We are pretty excited for it, the kids are great, but we push the fun element towards them more, but with our teens, we have a really good bunch of girls,” he said.

“Girls like Tyler and Giselle will go far. This was Tyler’s first comp at blue belt, and she technically wasn’t old enough to compete, so I had to email the competition to allow it and she didn’t lose a fight.

“The future is definitely bright for them, and they are all part of our scholarship team for Indigenous athletes.”

Burnham said it had been a successful year.

“It has been an amazing year, we are a small fish in a big pond competing against bigger clubs and for us to do well against these guys is amazing,” he said.

“We have some amazing talent coming through with our kids and teens and the next 12-24 months will be cool for the club.

“For the kids involved, it shows them what is achievable if you put your mind to something.”