T45 Jiu Jitsu Isle of Man, the island’s newest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school, arrived on the competition scene with a bang last weekend,

The Manx club participated in the Grappling Industries Dublin event on Saturday, the Republic of Ireland’s best-attended grappling competition featuring more than 1,800 competitors.

The event took place at the Sport Ireland Campus in Snugborough on the outskirts of the capital where the team from the Isle of Man joined their head coach Ciaran Brohan and sister academy T45 Jiu Jitsu.

The combined efforts of both academies resulted in T45 Jiu Jitsu collecting the first place team trophy.

The small team of three fighters from the Isle of Man brought back a haul of two gold medals, three silvers and one bronze.

Each of the three competitors trained hard and fought well in the competition.

Coach Myles Joughin stole the show with an impressive 14 wins by submission across four divisions, earning him gold in the Gi absolute and no Gi division.

Catherine Moor demonstrated the effectiveness of the sport against a bigger opponent with a dominant win over a super heavyweight opponent in the no gi absolute division – despite being a featherweight herself – and bringing home bronze for her efforts.

Jordan Christian achieved an incredible opening-round submission win at his first competition at blue belt, but unfortunately a stacked division with a number of experienced opponents prevented him from moving into the medal stages.

Speaking after the event, coach Joughin commented: ‘We have seen an immense improvement in the team’s game over the last six months and it was a wonderful experience seeing them display this on the mats in the competition scene.

‘I couldn’t be prouder of those involved, including those in the gym who chose not to compete but supported and pushed our competitors on the mats every day.

‘We have big plans for the second half of 2023 and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone who would like to compete and achieve those goals.’

l If you would like to get involved or require more information regarding starting the sport, contact T45 Isle of Man on Facebook, Instagram or by email at [email protected]