UAE youths gain experience – and a few medals – in US jiu-jitsu trip

The delegation of 48 jiu-jitsu athletes aged 10-16 from the UAE to Los Angeles begin their journey home on Monday after a trip to remember.

Abdulrahman Sultan Al Nuaimi has his hand raised as the winner in a match against his UAE Jiu-Jitsu teammate Mansour Al Ketbi in the gold-medal match on Saturday at the American National Kids Championship jiu-jitsu tournament in Long Beach, California. Zachary Patton for The National / October 18, 2014Show less

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA // On his final full day in the United States, with a new “USA” embroidered cap perched on his head, Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi listed some of the souvenirs he collected for the trip home Monday to the UAE.

Shirts, shoes, a jacket and the most important thing – a bottle of perfume for his mother.

But the 13-year-old jiu-jitsu player also returns with something much longer lasting than all of that: a great memory of his first international competition.

“It was very hard,” said Al Kaabi, who won two matches and collected a gold medal in his division at the American National Kids Jiu-Jitsu Championship. “I am very happy, very happy for my country.”

He was part of a successful contingent of 48 athletes, ages 10-16, who represented the UAE for the first time in a youth competition outside the country.

The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation hopes the experience will encourage more participation and lead to other trips, in addition to the monthly tournaments for juniors in the UAE. The annual World Professional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships will be held in Abu Dhabi in April, where top juniors also will compete again, said Mubarak Al Menhali, a federation official and leader of the UAE delegation.

“This was an excellent experience for all of them,” he said. “We are happy with the results. To us, they are all champions.”

They are all, at least, better off, thanks to its lessons, he said.

“You could see when they are losing, some of them are crying,” he said. “This is the loyalty to jiu-jitsu. The loss will encourage them to train more.”

The team finished fourth in team points, and won the Teens team division. UAE individuals were credited with 15 gold, 17 silver and 13 bronze, although some medals were awarded to players whose weight and class categories did not have enough entries to offer competition.

Regis Rodrigues, one of the coaches who accompanied the team to the US, said the boys and girls performed well, considering the 16.5-hour plane trip that dropped them in Los Angeles less than three days before the competition.

“I would like them to have more rest,” Rodrigues said. “But they did very well. Good results come from a good base of training. They train hard.”

Competing against players from another country was also a bit intimidating, at times, because it was new.

“I was excited to be here, but I was a little scared,” said Wadima Saeed Al Yahei, 14, who lost her first match, then won her second.

The trip had its cultural benefits, too.

Humaid Yaser, 14, who fought twice and collected a gold medal, said he was not ready to go home.

“I would like to stay longer,” he said. “I love this country. The culture is different, but people treated me like we were brothers.”

The short stay in California, 11 time zones behind the UAE, included a hike in the hills overlooking Los Angeles on Thursday, a group shopping trip on Friday and a 20-mile bus ride to the UAE consulate in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Abdullah Al Saboosi, the consul general, visited the team on Friday night, delivered a pep talk, and attended the matches on Saturday.

It was a culinary journey, as well.

After a diet that tilted heavily in favour of pizza and sandwiches for the first couple of days, Al Menhali said organisers opted for more familiar fare the night before the tournament.

“The solution was to bring in some kabobs, some Arabic and Indian foods,” he said. “They missed their rice and their meats.”

Al Yahei said she was looking forward to getting home, on Tuesday, first to see her parents, second to regain some weight.

“I was 101 pounds [45.4kg] before I came, now I am 94 pounds because of the food that they picked,” she said, laughing.

And what will she eat when she gets home?

She replied: “Junk food!”

If the kids had a fun adventure, the trip was overwhelmingly a testament to the seriousness of the UAEJJF’s mission.

Rodrigues, a Brazilian, like all of the team’s coaches, epitomised the organisation’s underlying earnestness.

“When I came to Abu Dhabi in 2009, it was my dream to change my life,” he said. “Now my dream is to change the young generation, motivate them to practice jiu-jitsu so it is their life.”

Perhaps even one student at a time.

Yaser said he would like to come back to the US when he is older, as a player.

“I want to compete with the best,” he said.

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