Mount Gambier Grappling Club’s Matt Pitman recently took home second place in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Grappling Industries tournament in Adelaide.

The all-day tournament was cancelled and re-scheduled twice due to COVID, so Pitman was glad when the event got the go-ahead.

Pitman competed No-Gi in the under 77kg white belt division with 10 competitors in his division, where they fought in a round-robin format.

The best of each group went through to the final and a two-match elimination determined the first, second and third place winners.

Pitman won all four of his initial matches, winning his first match by points and the others by submission, which sent him straight into the finals for first and second.

He won two of his matches by armbar, which is a joint lock and another with a kimura, which is a shoulder lock.

Pitman lost his final match by submission against his opponent, an accomplished ADCC Silver Medallist, who caught him in a D’arce Choke.

“The match was good, it was a wicked match to watch.“ Pitman said.

Pitman said he attended the Apex Combat Sports Festival in Adelaide the weekend before the Grappling Industries tournament, which helped him adapt and hone his game.

“The more you can compete, the better you’ll get, you can train and train and train but competing’s so much more different, so much more intense,” he said.

“It’s all or nothing, basically, like you have to put it all out there otherwise you’ll lose.”

Pitman took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the Mount Gambier Grappling Club in 2019 and is coached by Andy England.

He is dedicated to the sport and trains four nights a week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Pitman said they hoped to incorporate kids Jiu-Jitsu classes and Gi nights at the club in the future.