Looking back a few years, who doesn’t remember those afternoons watching Jackie Chan movies and imitating his fearless movements? Possibly this Asian actor has planted the seed of a love for martial arts in many people while contributing to the dissemination of this modality throughout the globe. However, Martial arts are not just “kick four times and lock one”but they encompass different sports disciplines such as judo, jiujitsu, karate, taekwondo, kickboxing or boxing among others.
Jiujitsu, at first glance, may be one of the least known, although in reality It is “the mother of all martial arts. “All the others have come from there”explains Joel Roncal, a 21-year-old Navarrese from Villafranca who, together with his Tafalla partner Adriana Sos, both belonging to the Bertxarri Judo Club of Tafalla, They have achieved important results in the Spanish Jiu-Jitsu Championship (fighting mode) held in Madrid on March 16 and 17.
Specific, Joel won the bronze medal in the -62Kg categorywhile Adriana, 18, proclaimed herself absolute champion in -57Kg category, which gives him a direct pass to the European championships that will be held next May in Germany. “I am very happy, I was very excited about this result because it is a reward for all the effort I have put into training. Although the truth is, I was confident of being able to win, since in the absolute championship the same people who competed in the Cup a few weeks ago were competing, and I was also the champion,” says Adriana.
For those who do not know the details of jiu-jitsu, both Joel and Adriana explain that as it is the mother of all martial arts, “it is made up of everything: you start with a punching match, as if it were karate, and once you get the hang of it, , you continue with judo and then with what would be combat on the ground. By that is such a complete sport”. And contrary to what many people may think, “It is not a violent sport. We train among ourselves to be able to progress. To do this we must make a key correctly and pull it the other way around. We both must know how to sacrifice ourselves in order to progress, for that reason camaraderie is essential.”
Finally, both Joel and Adriana say that the sporting life of a judoka is long because although you cannot participate in official competitions, you can It can be practiced or trained “as long as the body can endure it.”. “In fact, there are people who have started martial arts when they were four years old, as is the case of Adriana, or when they were seven, as is my case,” Joel points out, “but there are also people who have done it when they were fifteen, thirty or even at 40 years old.”
Spanish Cup
These medals have not been the only ones of the season for Adriana and Joel, since during II Spanish Jiu-Jitsu Cupalso held in Madrid on February 24, were made with two gold medals. On this occasion, the Navarrese locker obtained a total of three medals, since Tatiana Cumbicos, a resident of Villafranca and also belonging to the Bertxarri Judo Club, managed to place third in the -70Kg category.
Best athlete from Tafalla
Last February, Joel Roncal collected the trophy at the Kulturgunea that accredits him as best male tafallés athlete of 2023 for “having been proclaimed the absolute champion of Spain in JiuJitsu, in addition to being selected for the European Championship that was held in Zagreb (Croatia), being at the same time the first Navarrese selected for a European championship in this modality”, as detailed by the organizers of this contest during the awards ceremony. Adriana was also present on the stage of the Cultural Center, since was a finalist in the category of best female Tafallesa athlete.
For Joel, this award was “a tremendous excitement,” since although he was not from Tafalla by birth, he has a strong bond with the town. “people laughed. It’s really funny that they gave me this award, although that doesn’t mean I’m very excited, since it is a recognition of all the effort I have put in, all the hours of training. But above all, it is a way to give visibility to this sport, unknown to many people.
Club Bertaxarri
Next November 13 It will be 40 years since the Bertxarri Judo Club of Tafalla was founded led by Eduardo Marco, who since then has been in charge of teaching judo, jiu jitsu and self-defense classes and instilling a love for this sport in all his students; students from all parts of the Middle Zone, as well as from other parts of Navarre. Currently, The club continues with unstoppable activity and the successes achieved by its members in these four decades have not been few.: Bertxarri has produced more than 100 black belts in the three modalities, as well as more than 15 referees, five of them national. The latest success, without a doubt, was achieved by Joel and Adriana. Zorionak!
2024-03-22 17:35:13
#Joel #Adriana #Navarrese #JiuJitsu #champions
