Northern Combat Club host Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu invitational

FORT ST. JOHN B.C. – The Northern Combat Club welcomed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners from across Northeast B.C. last weekend for their first event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Saturday, the Fort St. John-based club welcomed martial artists from Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek for an invitational tournament.

Local BJJ professor and black belt Clint Parker was ecstatic with the success of the first grappling event he’s ever put together.

“It turned out awesome. Everybody showed up, and I was surprised because, with tournaments, you might have a couple that drop out. We only had one guy that last-minute couldn’t go, so that’s pretty awesome,” said Parker.

Parker says he set up the event to help prepare local fighters for their upcoming events in Red Deer, Edmonton and Calgary in the next few months.

Each competitor had two to five matches, with each match having an eight-minute time limit, and three-minute overtime when a submission didn’t take place. If an opponent wasn’t submitted, the two squaring off had their decision left to the two referees: black belt Stephen Beard and brown belt Ryan Carignan.

The next event is on June 11th in Dawson Creek at DCMMA and will feature Gi Jiu-Jitsu matches and a four class No-Gi Grand Prix.

A class:

A Class champ: Dan Cosens (Dawson Creek)

B Class:

B Class champ: Lucas Ziebart (Fort St. John)

A Class:

A Class champ: Devon Shelkie (Fort St. John)

B Class:

B Class champ: Brad Savage (Fort Nelson)

Best Submission: Braden Fiesel (Fort St. John)

Most Heart: Glen Froese (Fort Nelson)

With files from Tre lopushinsky