Caption: (From Left) Eazy Anuar, Dk Nor Faziah Pg Abas, Abi Umamah Ali and Nobel Lee pose for a group photo. Picture: Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THIS year we watched in awe as Busiido Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club (BJJ) dominated a couple of regional and international tournaments - raking in medals from Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and United Kingdom (UK) - arguably the strongest performance we have witnessed in the club’s nine-year history.
Their accomplishment was even more significant considering that the club runs independently without any affiliation with international BJJ associations and networks such as Alliance, Atos, Checkmat and Gracie Barra that gained a foothold in neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Situated 18,187 km away from the motherland of the art, Brazil, Brunei was never seen as a potential hub for the global practitioners in the sport, but that is about to change.
The club is dead set on putting the Sultanate on the BJJ map at the IBJJF Worlds Masters Jiu Jitsu Championshup in Vegas next weekend.
Eazy Anuar will be leading the four-athlete team - Nobel Lee, Abi Umamah Ali and Dk Nor Faziah Pg Abas the others who are Vegas bound - and he is hyped up for the prestigious tournament.
“We are not going to let anyone deter us. We are not going to let anyone set a limit to our target and to what we can do,” said a spirited Eazy in an interview with BruSports News when met on Wednesday.
“We will go out there and give our best. No matter what happens on the day we will leave in on the mat,” he added.
Eazy Anuar controlling Nobel Lee in a back take position during their recent training. Picture: AK Fauzi Pg Salleh
This year’s competition has attracted top competitors from all over USA, Brazil and rest of the world considering that the 8-men Black belt Grand Prix, which will feature Andre Galvao, Mahammad Aly, Leandro Lo and Marcus Buchecha, is happening the same week.
Competing for the first time on the biggest stage of the sport in a country, where the art gained its popularity and grew worldwide, Eazy and the team are ready to face any circumstances at the annual tournament that will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
“It really depends on the luck of the draw,” continued the purple belt holder.
“Your first match could be against the tournament's champion, or if you are lucky you might receive a bye, or face someone who is not as technically or physically sound.
“Realistically, we would just like to do well and execute our technique.
“The Worlds (competition) 10 years ago used to be held only in Brazil, and at that time it was called the ‘Mundial’, but as the sport grew bigger, it was hard for some competitors from some parts of the world to acquire visas to compete. With the competition now being held in the US, it is a lot easier to enter,” he added.
The team will depart the Sultanate on Sunday and will be attending some training at local gyms in San Diego and San Francisco prior to the tournament proper.
“Everyone feels nervous but all the hard training will be over soon, we will be training at Atos in San Diego while Nobel will train at Clark Gracie in San Francisco,” said Eazy.
“We are just going to do light training and focus on drills, and just to relax a bit, acclimatise and beat off the jet lag,” he added.
Eazy also highlighted the importance of a strong mentality and how it will affect the fight positively.
“In a battle, you either win or lose, and the first thing is always about your mentality. If you come into the fight with your head down thinking that you are not good enough, then you already lost,” Eazy added.
“We must sharpen and train our minds to never give up, keep on going and tell ourselves that we can do it, because most of the time our body will fail, then it is our mind that will tell us to do the right thing.
“We also got to treat every match like it’s our last, you got to have that mentality and confidence," he concluded.
Eazy went on to thank Busiido, Wolfpack Training Ground and Project Mayhem Fight Club for their help in preparing for the tournament and ITPSS for their financial support.
