Last Sunday, February 26, the Pavilhão dos Lombos arena in Cascais hosted the Portuguese tryouts for the WPJJ in Abu Dhabi. With around 800 spectators crowding the venue, among them the ambassadors of the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, the candidates to win all-expenses-paid trips to Abu Dhabi put on a show, and the winners added some heft to their bank accounts.

It’s worth noting that the April event is open to anyone wishing to visit the Emirates and compete. For those who want to join the fray without having to shell out their own money, the next chance is at the England tryouts, put together by the relentless Bráulio Estima. To register, click here!

POLISH JIU-JITSU ACE BEATS REINALDO RIBEIRO

In Cascais, the champions to earn all-expenses-paid trips came from Poland, Italy, Portugal and a number of other countries, underscoring the growth the gentle art is undergoing in Europe. Check out who placed at the top:

-65kg

1) Jadrzej Loska (Copacabana Fight Club)
2) Reinaldo Ribeiro (Icon JJ/Reinaldo Ribeiro)

-74kg
1) Maxime Olivier (CheckMat Gokudo)
2) Ademir Araujo (United/BPT)

-83kg
1) Luca Anacoreta (Aeterna JJ)
2) Mathias Ribeiro (Mathias Ribeiro Team)

-92kg
1) Marcelo Bermardo (United/BPT)
2) Paulo Mendes (United/BPT)
(Teacher and student, the Portuguese athletes closed out)

+92kg
1) Miro Afonso (United/BPT)
2) Karim Ait Khalifa (Alliance)

Lightweight purple -73kg
1) Daniel Svensson (Prana JJ)
2) Daniel Agar (BJJ School)

Heavyweight purple +73kg
1) Arturo Espies (Mathias Ribeiro Team)
2) Victorio Dies (Mathias Ribeiro Team)
(Os espanhóis fecharam)

Lightweight blue
1) Victor Cardoso (Icon JJ/Vita Team)
2) Claudio Ly (Icon JJ/Vita Team)

Heavyweight blue
1) Aly Mohamed Lopes(Icon JJ/Vita Team)
2) Emanuel Alvez (NU Manoel Neto)

Absolute white
1) Luis Ramos (Gracie Barra Seixal)
2) João Naré(Icon JJ/Coimbra MMA)

FEM -63 purple and black
1) Kristin Doeblin (Mathias Ribeiro Team)
2) Dolores Asensi(Climent Club)

FEM +63 Roxa a Preta
1) Shanti Abelha (Club Arte Suave/Checkmat)
2) Magdalena Witkowska (Berserksers Team Poland)

FEM Absolute white and blue
1) Mile Pedesen
2) Maria Runquist (Mascarenhas Team)

The Arab world has embraced Jiu-Jitsu once and for all, and on the 24^th and 25^th of September it will be the kids’ turn in the spotlight, at the Arab Cup for Kids event. The tournament will take place in Amman, Jordan, with kids between four and fourteen years of age competing. And there’s much more than mere medals on the line.

“For the first time, we’re rewarding the first-place winners with Playstation III’s and Keiko gis to the runners-up, as well as medals,” remarks brown belt Mohammed Bilbeisi, the event’s organizer.

Another piece of news is the Arab world’s participation en masse.

The event has been around for seven years and this time, we decided to open it up to the other Arab nations. We have athletes from Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Palestine all confirmed. We already count 120 participants,” adds Bilbeisi.