Fozan Al-Sabej, Kuwait's champion of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), has bagged two medals, one gold and the bronze, in the ongoing London-hosted international tournament of the combat sport, involving elite fighters from Arab and foreign countries.
Al-Sabej told KUNA by telephone that he won the gold medal in the under 100 kg category, the brown belt, and got the other one in the open fights of the same belt -- in which fighters of various weights are allowed to take part.
His fellow citizen, Mohammad Ali, could not make it in his weight's category, Al-Sabej said, indicating that the competition is very robust with participation of top-level practitioners.
He expressed hope that the result he made would nudge his fellow Kuwaitis to follow his example.
This combat sport is increasingly becoming popular in Kuwait and other Arab countries, and Kuwait now has a record of past participation in various championships.
The BBJ is a martial art that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was formed from Kodokan Judo ground fighting (newaza) fundamentals. It promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using proper technique, leverage, and most notably, taking the fight to the ground.
Since its inception in 1882, its parent art of Judo was separated from older systems of Japanese Ju-Jitsu by an important difference that was passed on to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Source: KUNA