KELOWNA – Patience paid off for members of the Bow Valley Jiu Jitsu (BVJJ) as the martial art club struck gold during a recent road trip to the Okanagan.
Canmore’s Carter Haines, James Young and Michal Dorocicz waited for their moments to pounce on challengers at the Submission Ace Championship Spring Classic, winning a trio of gold medals on Saturday (June 29) in Kelowna, B.C.
The strong showings at Submission Ace are proving BVJJ on the western Canada stage as a team with up-and-comers to look out for.
Haines, 24, was as difficult to defeat as it’s difficult to spot lake monster Ogopogo during the B.C. tournament.
The blue belt carved through three opponents, scoring two toeholds submissions and an arm bar to win his category. He said it was key to reel in challengers and play at his speed during the jiu-jitsu bouts, which involves ground fighting and submissions.
“People come in really spaz-ing, being aggressive and I have to come in calm and composed and capitalize on other peoples mistakes,” Haines said.
Staying cool when someone desperately attempts to choke him unconscious has been a learned skill for Haines, one he’s been able to effectively display during transitions to sink in submissions of his own.
“I’ve been really working on controlling the pace of the match and slowing things down,” Haines said.
The gold medal was not only a first for Haines’ in the Submission Ace series, but also for his teammates as well.
Young, 32, won gold in his very first competition, tapping out two of the three opponents with an arm bar and Ezekiel choke. The white belt was surprised with his golden results and explained his nerves were bursting the day of after weeks of excitement building up to the tournament.
“The one thing I did differently was I waited and stayed patient to see what they were going to do,” Young said. “I wanted to see what sort of game they wanted to play, which is hard because adrenaline is pumping and you’d like to finish it quickly.”
Young cut through his first two opponents with his counter attack approach and fought to a draw after six minutes in his third match. He had a dominant back position against Brayden Sailer of
Calgary’s Aether BJJ, but was unable to sink in a choke to end things.
Young’s teammate, Dorocicz, had success when his opponents were in vulnerable positions.
The white belt tapped both opponents with an Americana armlock and an arm bar to capture his first gold medal in jiu-jitsu competition.
“I think I was doing well controlling my opponents,” Dorocicz, 32, said. “If someone is very aggressive, I use their aggression against them, but if someone doesn’t show (aggression), I take over and I push them.”
