Mildura Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes once again brought home a haul of hardware after competing at last weekend’s South Australia BJJ state titles.
In total, BJJ athletes won 11 golds, 11 silvers, and six bronzes and came third overall for the team category.
Head coach Luke Burnham said that heading into the competition they felt like David up against Goliath.
“The two gyms that came first and second have five gyms affiliated with them, so as a one-off gym, we were going up against the big guys,” he said.
“We were stoked to go out there and fight above our weight and it was a great effort from the whole team.”
Burnham emphasised that medals were just a bonus, but seeing the excitement on some of his students’ faces was priceless.
“We had a kid who had done a couple of competitions but had not won before,” he said.
“On the weekend, he was losing his fight, and then he pulled off a submission out of nowhere.
“When people ask what the best medal was, I say none, but seeing that kid’s face light up was everything for me.”
Mildura Martial Arts’ Lachlan Mendoza, who is one of the best up-and-coming BJJ practitioners in the country, walked away with two silver medals.
“I didn’t lose too badly, and I just had zero points and zero everything, so it went down to a decision, so I couldn’t really do anything about that,” he said.
“I’ve competed against the same guy six times now, and I’ve bet him two or three times, and he’s won two or three times, so it’s a bit back and forth.”
“I just love having fun in it now because I don’t really care about SA states anymore, it’s kind of become a warm-up comp for me.”
