For Khaled Al Awlaqi and his seven sons, life revolves around jiu-jitsu

Emirati army man has converted a room in his Baniyas home for jiu-jitsu training

Khaled Al Awlaqi, centre, with his sons Mahdi (left) and Faraj at their home in Baniyas area in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled Al Awlaqi trains with his sons Mahdi and Faraj, who are both in UAE's high performance squad. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled Al Awlaqi with his sons Mahdi (17), Faraj (15), Mohammed (14), Altheeb (8), Mubarak (6), Abdullah (6) and Omar (5) at his home in Baniyas. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled Al Awlaqi is in the Army and manager of the Jiu-Jitsu Department at Baniyas Club. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled Al Awlaqi has converted one room of his Baniyas home for jiu-jitsu training. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled Al Awlaqi believes his sons can reach the highest level in jiu-jitsu. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled Al Awlaqi picked up jiu-jitsu 12 years back in the Army. Pawan Singh / The National

Khaled's sons Mahdi and Faraj are both blue belts. Pawan Singh / The National

Many households are adjusting to the UAE government’s directives to stay home to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Khaled Al Awlaqi’s is one of those. He has converted a room in his home in Baniyas in Abu Dhabi for jiu-jitsu training for his seven sons – Mahdi, 17, Faraj, 16, Mohammed, 15, Altheeb, 8, Mubarak, 7, Abdulla, 6, and Omar, 5.

“I want to keep my boys in good shape and, above all, make use of the free time at home. I decided to convert a room for their training,” Awlaqi said.

“We have had this for more than a month now and the boys are enjoying it. They train twice a day daily with physical fitness in the mornings and combat training in the evenings.”

Al Awlaqi, 37, serves in the army where he first picked up the sport 12 years ago. He was promoted as manager of the Jiu-Jitsu Department at Baniyas Club after serving as an administrator for eight years.

“I took up jiu-jitsu in the military and had my share of success in domestic competitions,” said Al Awlaqi, who holds a brown belt.

Mahdi and Faraj are both in the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s high performance squad and represented the country at the JJIF (Jiu-Jitsu International Federation) World Youth Championship in 2018 and 2019.

“In time to come, I want the Awlaqi family to be remembered just like the renowned martial art Gracie family of Brazil,” Awlaqi said in reference to the doyens of the martial art and the forefathers of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“My boys have shown potential to reach the top in jiu-jitsu from a very young age. They complement each other by training and sharing their experience.

“Mahdi and Faraj as the two older boys have had a head start and already reached a good level. They have taken over the responsibilities of teaching the younger siblings when I’m at work.

“The home workout is going well and I’m thinking of continuing with it even when the lockdown ends.

“Of course, they will re-join the high performance training and their club when the situation improves. They can still do some workouts at home as and when they feel like doing some additional work.”

Mahdi won gold in orange/green belt on his UAE debut at the World Youth in 2018. He placed fifth last year when competing in the blue belt 66kg after losing to eventual winner Christian Vikaj of Canada in the quarter finals.

He was looking forward to his third appearance at the World Youths - part of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship - this month before it was suspended following the Covid-19 outbreak. The National reported on Saturday that the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation hope to reschedule their end-of-season event in November.

“I am not sure if this is going to take place, and if it doesn’t, I lose the chance to compete in this division again as I’ll be overage for the next edition in April [2021],” Mahdi, who won gold at the Balkan U18 Open in Bucharest last September, said.

“I have come a long way since I started jiu-jitsu under my father’s tutelage 10 years ago.

“I share my knowledge and experience with my younger brothers, and I believe they will have a better knowledge of the ever-evolving technicalities of the martial art.

“Unlike me and Faraj, my younger brothers have had the opportunity to watch jiu-jitsu from a very early age. They also have more advanced skills for their age.

“They have a head start in that regard and I don’t see why they can’t get better than us when they reach our age.”

Faraj won silver at the World Youths behind top seeded Brazilian Luan Veras in the orange/green belt 62kg category in Abu Dhabi last year. He was promoted to blue belt earlier this year.

“I believe they are going on the right direction in their jiu-jitsu careers,” Al Awlaqi senior said of his children.

“In my opinion they have the potential to reach international level. They are all very committed towards their work and willing to learn.”