Gracie in Paris

Members of The Isle of Man’s very own Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu Competition Squad were back in action for the first time this year at the prestigious IBJJF European Gi Championships in Paris.

The difference between the Gi and Nogi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments is simply down to the clothing worn. The Gi tournament requires the competitor to wear the ‘Gi’ or kimono which is the traditional uniform widely used in a number of combat sports and includes using the clothing to finish a choke for example. ‘Nogi’ kit includes a rashguard and shorts and often makes for a faster paced match and is more closely linked to the Jiu-Jitsu style utilised in MMA.

This is the first time a Manx team have entered this tournament which is second only to the IBJJF World Gi Championships held annually in California. The Isle of Man Squad previously exceeded expectations at the IBJJF European Nogi Championships in Rome in November last year with team member Alanna Pritchard becoming European Champion and the team returning with a number of medals.

Five competitors entered the Paris tournament with two having never competed previously.

Newcomer Bayram Chausev brought home Gold and became European Champion in his middleweight division after incredible performances and wins in five consecutive matches. Bayram was recovering from a significant injury last year and a recent knee injury in the week prior to the tournament which makes this achievement even more impressive under the circumstances.

British Nogi Champion 2022 and IBJJF European Nogi Silver medalist 2022 Hayley Curtis was keen to try and make a statement in the Gi competition after such dominant wins in Nogi in 2022. She did not disappoint with a superb submission win in the quarter final which lead to a third place finish and a Bronze medal.

Lukasz Borciuch also competed for the first time and had two excellent initial matches in the Super Heavyweight beating the number one seed in the second match but unfortunately sustained an injury which meant he was unable to continue during the semi final match. After such exceptional performances he was seen as the person to beat and expected to win which is an incredible achievement and ultimately took Bronze.

Head Coach Conrad Roberts said: ‘We are so happy with the results and continue to put the Isle of Man on the map when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu. A lot of effort goes into the preparation for these large tournaments and the hard work continues to pay off.

‘We are scheduled to send a squad away to a tournament every month this year and we are also keen to build a team for the Nogi Europeans and the World Championships towards the end of the year. For these competitions we really could do with sponsorship to help cover some of the costs and give as many of the talented individuals we have a chance to win in competition so please get in touch if you would like to assist.’

The team, Nogi and British Champion 2022 Alanna Pritchard and Head Coach Conrad Roberts have been receiving nominations in the Isle of Man Sports Awards for their incredible achievements in 2022 and we await to see if they make the shortlists.