Every army needs standard bearers – brave soldiers who stand at the front, lead by example and carry the flag. They charge ahead with their crest soaring high so that those who oppose them know, with clarity, which army is coming to crush their ranks. By entering the fray first, they give courage to their compatriots, emboldening those behind to press forward and support the campaign.
On September 3rd, Gracie Legacy (Gracie Humaitá Austin) raised its flag and entered battle for the first time. Though small in number, we arrived with strength in solidarity, planting our flag so that all could see. We are here. We are not hiding. And we aim to take everything.
Justin finishes his first opponent after racking up the score 12x0.
The Grapple America tournament in Austin was the first proving ground, and two of our blue belts – Justin Baize and Vidush Rana – were our first standard bearers.
Though only a blue belt, Justin put faith in his training and entered the purple belt division. With the odds stacked against him, Justin challenged heavier and more experienced opponents in both his weight class and the open-weight division.
Justin takes the finals with a kimura.
In less than 12 minutes, it was all over – Justin stood atop the podium with two gold medals, having dispatched all of his opponents, by submission, in both his weight class and the open-weight. Justin displayed a fluid game with sweeps, passes and pressure that flustered his opponents and demonstrated a technical ability far beyond his years. None of his matches lasted more than 3 minutes, and by submitting all of his opponents without allowing a single point to be scored on him, Justin put his rivals on notice – at Gracie Legacy, we are striving for perfection, no matter the challenge, no matter the belt, no matter the weight.
Justin defeated all of his opponents by submission.
Shortly thereafter, Vidush walked on the mat to contest the blue belt division. In his weight class, Vidush was not to be outdone by his teammate. Engaging at a frenetic pace, he pressured his opponents with sound technique and dynamic passing, working to break his opponents’ spirits by sheer will. And in the end, the young featherweight was perfect in his triumph, finishing all of his opponents on his way to the gold medal. Our entire team was on the sideline to welcome Vidush off the mat and to note that the bar has been set high for us all.
An ezekiel gives Vidush the gold.
The open-weight category has historically been the domain of heavier fighters. With technique being equal, the giants benefit from the mismatch in weight. Rarely does one see a fighter below middleweight challenge for a spot on the podium. Undeterred by this, and following the path that Gracie Humaitá’s leader, Royler Gracie, paved for us all, Vidush entered the open-weight division to test his mettle and prove his technical ability.
Outweighed by 100 lbs, Vidush sweeps his opponent and takes the back
Pitted against opponents who outweighed him by up to 100 lbs, Vidush stood strong and faced his opponents without regard for any perceived disadvantage. He handily defeated his first two opponents and found himself in the finals against a strong opponent, the winner of the heavyweight division.
As the final match began, his opponent took on the role of the aggressor, keenly aware of how Vidush had dictated the pace of his earlier matches. Hell bent on passing, the heavyweight moved swiftly from side-to-side, working tirelessly to penetrate the defenses of Vidush’s open guard. Vidush, however, matched the pace and moved deftly to defend his opponent’s attempts to pass, threatening with a constant barrage of submission attempts. And while Vidush was successful in unbalancing his opponent regularly, in the end, their efforts were equal, and the match ended tied – 0-to-0. A judge’s decision went to the heavyweight and Vidush walked away slightly short in his goal, but still triumphant in his campaign to test his technique against all comers.
Both our teammates represented well. Neither had a single point scored on them, and at the end of the day, they walked away with 4 well-earned medals, three of them gold. We’re proud of Justin and Vidush, because they both walked into that gymnasium without regard for the medals. What they sought was an opportunity to challenge themselves. By competing against higher ranked and heavier opponents, they found that challenge and rose to meet it. And in doing so, they proved that at our academy, there is no glory without risk and no triumph without hardship. There are no rewards for ‘perfect attendance’. We seek to enter the hardest divisions, fight the most people and test our technique against all comers. We earn our medals and that is why we can enjoy our triumph. What’s more is that we do it TOGETHER. Our entire team was there, supporting our two friends and teammates on the mat. We are not an academy that sends its students to stand alone when the day comes to fight. We are one team, one academy, one family. Gracie Humaitá Austin. Gracie Legacy.