ABU DHABI // Sultan Al Muhairi had never fought in a competition before, but on Wednesday the youngster found himself on a mat ready to take on an opponent as more than 100 people looked on.
Sultan was among 22 novice jiu-jitsu pupils, boys and girls between the ages of six and 11, competing in the inaugural Aldar Academies Jiu-Jitsu Cup, the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi.
He faced Oscar Stickells from Al Mushrif Primary School, and all early signs pointed to a defeat for Sultan, as Oscar – perhaps fuelled by his teammates’ chants of “Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!” – appeared to dominate initially.
But Sultan was not ready to give up just yet. “Go, Sultan! Fight to get his leg,” his coach, Pedro De Miranda, yelled from the sidelines.
Sultan reached for Oscar’s right leg with his arms and knocked him to the mat with a quick, powerful sweep of his leg.
As the referee declared Sultan the winner, he ran to his coach for a high five.
“He was amazing,” Abdulla Al Muhairi, his father, said. “It was close, so it was difficult to determine who was going to win, but he made it in the end and I was so happy for him.”
The cup is the first jiu-jitsu competition in Abu Dhabi to involve private schools. It is open for children as young as six.
The tournament was hosted by Aldar Academies in partnership with the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and Palm Sports. For its inaugural cup, the competition had 11 matches with pupils from Aldar Academies schools and the Glenelg School of Abu Dhabi participating.
The UAE junior national team members also took part in five “super fights” meant to give the audience “a sample of higher-level fights”.
UAE gold medallists Ali Al Darei and Faisal Al Ketbi also gave a demonstration of the sport’s more complex positions.
Al Ketbi, who was introduced to the sport when he was 11, said it has taught him lessons that have changed his life.
“You can learn how to protect yourself. You can make your body healthy, you can make your brain healthy. Of course, if you have a healthy body, you have a healthy brain,” he said.
It also taught him to face his challenges with dignity.
“When you lose, that’s not the end. It’s the beginning to everything because without failure, you don’t achieve anything,” Al Ketbi said.
“You try to do your best until you cannot. I would like to say to them – do it and believe in yourself.”
Hassa Mohammed, a 12-year-old in Grade 7 at Al Reef School, joined jiu-jitsu classes two years ago. She loved it so much she now trains between two and three hours daily, five days a week, as part of the UAE junior national team.
“In many competitions she has taken first place,” said Tamara Rocha, Hassa’s coach.
“Everything is hard, but you should train like this so it will be easy for you,” Hassa said.
Next year, the cup will be expanded to include more private schools, said Nilay Ozral, the chief executive of Aldar Academies.
rpennington@thenational.ae