ABU DHABI // Stuart Penn’s motto in life is that there is no such word as “can’t”.
The Briton, who was born with only one fully-formed limb, will be among 54 contestants in Friday’s Abu Dhabi World Para Jiu-Jitsu Championship at the Ipic Arena.
Penn, 39, is a blue belt from the renowned Gracie Barra school of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but he has been practising the martial art for only four years.
“I was born with only one fully-formed limb – my right arm,” Penn said. “My left arm ends just below the elbow, my right leg ends at the knee, and my left leg has various bones missing and a small clubbed foot.
Despite his severe handicap, Penn has always been focused on achieving whatever goals he sets for himself.
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“I attended mainstream schooling in the UK, and qualified as a gym instructor and as a taekwondo instructor, in which I also hold a fourth-degree black belt,” he said.
Penn is now excited about his participation in the para jiu-jitsu championship and says his main intention is to get a message across to disabled people around the world.
“This whole concept is brilliant,” he said. “It’s not only the para athletes but it’s a long festival of jiu-jitsu where you get to compete at every level from the young kids to the world’s elite.
“It’s been amazing even to have trained with some of the guys with missing limbs in the last two days since I arrived in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s amazing even for me to get this far. It’s huge honour for me to be here and the platform we have got.
“For me, it’s all about getting the message out there and show it to those with disabilities that they can still compete in jiu-jitsu. They could reach to this level in the world stage.”
Penn has been practising taekwondo since he was a child and competed in snowboarding, swimming, sprinting, judo and taekwondo.
“I was doing all these with prosthetic limbs,” he said. “But when I joined a jiu-jitsu club my coach insisted that I wouldn’t need my artificial limbs in jiu-jitsu.
“It fascinated me because I never tried anything without my prosthetic limbs. It was like a whole new world opened for me. I have been training for the last four months.
“Most of my colleagues training with me are all able bodied, and I could slip my stumps and a small clubbed foot can make a wicked hook.
“One of the main adaptations I’ve made to my game recently is using other people’s grips on me against them. It would be interesting to see how I compete against different disabled persons and their different style of fighting.”
Joining Penn in the competition is Stacy Duchscherer from Canada. He was coaxed into jiu-jitsu by his son Ryan, 15, who competes in the Abu Dhabi World Youth Championship on Monday.
Duchscherer, 50, lost his left leg below the knee in a work-related accident 30 years ago.
“My son got me into jiu-jitsu four years ago,” he said. “His passion for the sport has rubbed on me in a big way.”
His son won silver in both the Gi and No-Gi [without the traditional kimono] in the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Los Angeles and is competing in our capital for the first time.
“Jiu-jitsu has been amazing to me,” Duchscherer said. “I never experienced this before. You can walk into any gym that has jiu-jitsu and get treated like a member of the same family.
“It’s incredible feeling.”
The inaugural para jiu-jitsu championship has drawn entries from 13 countries.
Elcirleyzuz Silva, a Brazilian who competed as a disabled athlete twice in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship, said the new event has given hope to the para athletes.
“Life of many people will change with the establishment of this championship,” he said.
After four days of the competition for girls and boys, today’s event will be the first for the adults, the para jiu-jitsu championship and the white belt Masters 1, 2 and 3.
SCHEDULE
Friday:
10.30am to 5pm: Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival White belt adult and Masters. Abu Dhabi World Parajiu-jitsu Festival.
Saturday:
10.30am to 5pm: Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival Female Masters and Male Masters 3 and 4.
April 16:
11am to 5pm: Abu Dhabi World Youth Championship (girls)
April 17:
11am to 5pm: Abu Dhabi World Youth Championship (boys)
April 18 to 22:
11am to 6pm: Ninth Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship
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