Future jiu jitsu stars taught by world champion at 2nd UKBJJA Junior Development Day

On Saturday 6 July 2019, the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff played host to the second United Kingdom Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Association (UKBJJA) Junior Development Day.

This free event brought nearly 100 young athletes from across the UK together to train and learn from black belt coaches, including Wales’s first female world champion, Ffion Davies.

Ffion took a kids gi seminar in the morning, followed by Chris Jastrzebski who taught wrestling for BJJ in the afternoon, while Ffion ran an adults seminar. Ffion and Chris were assisted by black belts Greg Creel, Omied Jalalian-Khakshour and Neil Williams (UKBJJA Cymru/Wales Director).

The UKBJJA junior development days are free for juniors aged 8-15 and are designed to get kids from different teams, backgrounds and regions working together and experiencing some new perspectives and approaches to their jiu jitsu.

Ffion Davies is a multiple world champion and the first Welsh athlete to win a BJJ world championship at black belt. Originally from Swansea and now based in Ireland, Cardiff was a stop on a busy seminar and competition schedule. She had flown in from Rome the day before and was due to leave for Amsterdam the next day.

Chris Jastrzebski is originally from Philadelphia. He wrestled out if Maryland and is a state and national medallist who wrestled for over 17 years competitively in the USA. He now lives and coaches in Wales.

Would you like to get involved?

We rely on the support of individuals and companies to run events like this - if you would like to get involved with future Junior Development Days, we are looking for:

- Guest instructors

- Host academies or venues

- Volunteers to help on the day

- Sponsors

If you can help, please email youthdevelopment@ukbjja.org

Not a UKBJJA member? JOIN NOW for just £15 per year

For more information, please contact Mike Williams, CEO, on 07748620235 or ceo@ukbjja.org

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About the UKBJJA:

The UKBJJA (www.ukbjja.org) is a not-for profit organisation which aims to provide a governance structure for the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, that promotes and develops the sport while allowing individual clubs and practitioners the space and freedom to practice the martial art in the way they enjoy. The UKBJJA is currently under assessment to be recognised by Sport England as the governing body for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the UK.

The UKBJJA was formed in 2013, and the association’s goal is to foster the development of BJJ at elite, community and grassroots levels, raising the profile of the sport but also providing pathways for development and involvement across communities in the UK. Visit UKBJJA at www.ukbjja.org or follow us on Twitter @ukbjja.

Contact Details:

For more information, contact Mike Williams, CEO on 07748620235 or newsdesk@ukbjja.org