i : j i i i : i OE Tae TSEC Tee SIN TTP Le REITER MOR RENN terre ree 6 DAVE TAYLOR TERRACE STANDARD The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 22, 1997 - B7 638-7283 Are you ready? Ultimate By DAVID TAYLOR RICH LACHANCE looks like he's about to pop. His eyes are bulging out. His cheeks are puff- ing up and down. His mouth is locked in a eri- mace and little veins are throbbing in his fore- head And no wonder. There’s a large guy sitting on his chest. Adam Tarsey has his arm wrapped tightly around Lachance’s head. His other hand slithers between them and curls into a fist over his opponent’s neck. Tarsey inhales, his chest expands and it’s all over. Lachance taps Tarsey's shoulder to submit. [t’s hard to breath when your Adam’s apple is being pressed into the back of your Both men hop up from the mat and laugh. “Good one,” says Lachance, the colour slowly returning to his face. This is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and it’s the newest martial art in town. “It’s really fun,” says Adam Tarsey. “It's an incredible work- out and it’s totally practical.” Tarsey recently started up a Freestyle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club in Terrace. The sport has been booming in Vancouver and some American cities, but this is its first foray into the northwest. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu combines the best fighting moves from various disciplines into one self- defence system. It consists of a combination of takedo choke and submission holds, strikes and ground techniques. Pelro Tsares, an experienced club member, was involved in traditional jiu-jitsu for four years before moving to the — Brazilian style with Tarsey two years ago. a He points out that most real fights end up on the ground, and i that’s where Freestyle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu excels. . “The police use a lot of the same styles because they want to submit and hold the guy, not hit him.” Tsares himself is small at just 140 lbs, but he Says Size isn ‘tnearly as important as technique in this sport. Rich Lachance agrees with that. He loves.to watch smaller peaple fight. “Smaller guys.are the best to watch fight because they're so fast,” he ‘says while ‘Tsares, takes on another smaller fighter. “Look, they’re hop- ping all over ‘the place! Petro is like the technician, eh. He wriggles fighting because he's all over you.” Tsares says that the emphasis on technique rather than size makes ita good self-defence sport for women and children.’ “It’s good for women’s self defence because they can learn to take a bigger guy down right away and then escape,” he points out. But there’s no escape for those who use Brazilian. Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu throat. ; ee “We do a lot of ground work and submission maves,” Tsares says. Na everywhere because he’s so small, and it pisses you off when you ‘re’ This style of competition, often called “no rules” or “ullimate fighting”, involves iwo athletes of any disci- pline fighting it out in a closed ring until ones knocked unconscious or submits..: “No holds barred Means NO, eye, gouging, » no biting and that’s il,” says’Tarsey. “It sounds brutal, but I’ve never seen anyone get seriously hurt. It’s just one on one, with nothing to fall on or hit. All my friends actually seem to hurt themselves in other sports.” Tarsey came to Terrace two years ago, where he got involved in judo and jiu-jitsu. But right away: he branched off on his own. He began to train extensively with Tsares and researched different fighting styles. fighting comes to Terrace “| was getting all the books I could find in the library and ] combined all the moves I could,” he says. ’ He also returned ta Vancouver for several months to train with Jason Fairn, one of the leading Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters. Tarsey has since made the break from traditional martial arts, which he says are good but too formalized and political for him. “We practice no Kata or imposed moves,” he says. “Everything here is - practical. There’s no hype, or mystique or magic moves. We just show how to do a mové, then practice it in a practical situation.” That lack of formality can also be seen in the club's hierarchy - there isn'tone. , “We don't use belts. Some martial artists will look al me and say, “He can't teach, he’s not'even a blackbelt!”’ Tarsey says. “But who cares? ° We're not here to show off our belts, we’re here to train and have fun. | want this to be a competition- style club. Our goal i is to have a team where we train and compete together.” All his training has paid off for Tarsey. He’s been in two professional competitions so far, and he’s won both of them. ‘The first’ was a Raw Combat match in Vancouver. He won, and is currently the Raw Combat light heavyweight champion. He has : also since won the Seattle Brazilian Freestyle -t Jiu-Jitsu advanced class competition. No holds barred fighting tournaments are factually illegal in Canada, so they tend to happen { quickly, before they get shut down. . { The popularity of this type of competition can -. # be seen at Ultimate Fighting Championships i which usually take place in southern American states every few months. The fights are broadcast on pay- per-view all over the world and people flock to their local sports bar to watch them. But Tarsey argues the competitions shouldn't be illegal here either. “It’s really intense, but it’s not dan- Poerous,” he says. “With bare knuckles, you pet knocked out quickly, or you tap out. And the fights are stopped if someone gets Sy abad cut. It’s not like boxing where you get hit over and ov Fe how mer Sts shots you can take. That’s a litle crazy.” , Tarsey, Tsares and Lachanee are ot Bowring it i next big match, coming up November 22 in Vanéouver. They practice three times a week, and they're looking for others who are interested in getting involved in this fast-growing sport. -“[’m not here to make money or babysit people. If people love it, that’s what we want,” Tarsey says. “Everyone here is equal. And we all spar together, that’s how you fearn technique. I'll spar with anyane. I want to lose - it's the only way [’ll get better.” For more information on Freestyle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu call 638-0733 in in “no holds barred” competitions. the evenings or 638-0852, - League curling hits the ice CURLING’S BACK and the Terrace Curling Club promises to deliver another excellent season, League play started last week at the improved curl- ing rink. Over the summer, rink manager Keith Melanson was hard at work getting a new roof installed over the ice, and organizing other Tenovations to spruce up the place. “Tt looks a heck of a lot better,’’ he says. ‘‘We’re very proud of it. I think we've got a pretly dam good recreation facility here.” As usual, things are al- ready pretty busy at the club. The Ladies and Mixed Leagues are full, and the popular Friday night league is running with three draws “It Jooks a heck of a lot better. We’re very proud of it. I think we've got a pretty darn good recreation facilily here’’ Coach of the Year First coach There has to be more coaches out there! EVEN WHEN he’s not coaching, he’s often down at the soccer fields, helping out, teaching, encouraging, Nick Kollias has been a coach for 14 years. And this year, he’s the first nominee for our annual Coach of the Year contest. Kollias was nominated by Nancy Con- don and Guy Kiland, who say he was in- strumental in helping their daughter, Laura, who was part of Kollias’ Under-14 Select squad. He doesn’t care aboul winning as murh as he wants to sce an effort being made and bis girls playing a good game,” Condon says, Kollias has his referee's ticket, his ““C”’ ‘He doesn’t care about winning as much as he wants to see an ef- fort being made and his girls playing a good game’’ —Nancy Condon referring to Nick Kollias and 35 teams. Melanson actually had one team drop out of Friday night play, so there’s a slot waiting for the first avail- able group. The only Icague that's really down this season is the Men’s League. But Melanson says that given this year’s economic un- certainties, being two teams short is no big deal. The cub is also still taking tegistrations in the league, in case anyone has had sec- ond thoughts about missing CURLERS ARE back on the ice after a long summer's rest. That's the Men's League in action last weak. There’s still room for two more teams this in league. the season. And the Junior League starts taking registrations today for what looks like a big scason., Junior League play starts on Oct. 29. They play every Wednesday at 5 p.m. Melanson says the club is taking a different approach to their Junior League this year by allowing teams to sign up. “Last year we had lots of people who wanted to play with their friends,"’ he says. “So this year you can sign up with a team or an indi- vidual.’’ Terrace schools are also getting more involved ia curling this year. Melanson says Centennial Christian has always had a big curling program, But now Skeena is getting more ice time. “The school program ia great because, even if they don’t stay with it, at least they're getting exposed to it,” he says. Melanson points out that curling is a relatively in- expensive way to keep ac- tive over the winter. The club even gives new curlers a half-price membership to get the started. “T's a great way to spend the winter,” he says. ‘Get out, get a little exercise and some comradery.”” licence and can coach at a second division level. Condon says he deserves recogni- tion for his tireless support in coaching and fundraising for the team. Kollias is also well-known for his posi- tive, supportive coaching style. “If a team member makes a mistake, you can hear Nick saying ‘That’s OK, That's OK,”' she says, ‘‘Later he will take her aside and explain it to her.’’ Condon says Kollias also tries to instill his girls with a strong sense of self- discipline and respect. That helped lead to great success for her daughter Laura. “The coaching and support Laum nominated teceived from Nick was the major reason for the big improvement in her skills,” she says. Laura Condon is now playing for a select team in Kelowna. Nick Kollias is the first, and so far the only, nominee for this year's Terrace Standard Coach of the Year contest, sponsored by Keenleyside Insurance and Cinaway Lmpressions. There are definitely more coaches out there who deserve to be recognized for their efforts, This is your chance. We wani to hear about them! All you have to do is fill out the nomination form found on page Al5 and send it fo us at 3210 Clinton St. Terrace V8G SR2. Or you can fax it to 638-8432, You can even email us at standard@kermode.net, The contest deadline this year is Nov. 13, The winner, and runners up will be announced shortly thereafter. The winner will receive a beautiful plaque and a great" jacket. Remember, there are lots of coaches out there who have worked bard for many: years and could use a pat on the back. This is your chance to pat one, pat many. For more details about the contest, see the nomination form on page AS. Then tear it out, photocopy it and pass it around to all your friends. Spread the word that we want to know about the best Terrace has to offer, ty +. am eee ee ee ee 8 ke ie at + ee ee