Head instructor Darragh O Conaill alongside Dean Barry and Steven Byrne, travelled saturday night to Bristol for the UK Premier BJJ Championships in search of more Gold medals to add to their already successful seasons.
First up was Steven in the White belt Featherweight division. Working his way through three matches, Steven took home the first Gold of the day for ECJJA beating his first two opponents comfortably on points, sweeping, passing and taking the back. The final was his toughest match, going behind early on advantage points, with 1 minute left to go Steven pulled off a beautiful armbar from closed guard to get the submission and the Gold medal!
Next up was Dean. Dean has had an awesome season so far taking home Gold at the Irish Cup, the Irish Open and the Irish Premier Championships and was looking to add yet another Gold to his collection. His opening match was his most difficult, with him and his opponent trading takedown attempts until his opponent thought wiser and pulled guard! Dean worked up points from passing and mounting eventually winning 9-0. He then made easier work of his final, racking up a 15 point lead and finishing with a cross choke from mount for the Gold!
Last of the day was Darragh competing in the Brown Belt Open Weight Division. His first opponent, a Super Heavyweight weighing in at 105kg scored early with a takedown, but Darragh quickly swept back, passed and finished with a Guillotine. His second opponent, also a Super Heavyweight, was harder work. Scoring early with an X-Guard sweep and quick guard pass Darragh took a 5-0 lead. His opponent recovered and brought some strong passing pressure but Darragh eventually swept again and finished the match 7-0 making it 3 Golds for ECJJA! An awesome days work and will carry the momentum perfectly towards the IBJJF London Open and IBJJF Nogi Europeans in October!
