Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete, Jordan Chick, has his father to thank for introducing him to the sport he loves when he was just four years old.
“He saw me watching and enjoying the sport, “ Jordan says, “ so one day he said, ‘Would you like to try it?’”
“Of course I did!”
This began Jordan’s successful foray into the martial art, that continues to this day.
Jordan and Matt Chick. Image used with permission.
Jordan and Matt Chick. Image used with permission.The young man from Darwin, Australia—soon to marry and move to Tasmania—has a shelf-full of ribbons and trophies from national and international competition, and a black belt.
But even more significantly, for the young man, he has approached the sport in a way inspired by his dad.
Guided by their Christian faith, they both declined the opportunity to compete on Sunday, or what they refer to as “ the Sabbath Day.”
That approach to faith, the Sabbath, and elite sport inspired the young Jordan to follow in his dad’s footsteps and likewise decide early on to honour God and keep his faith in Jesus Christ alive, even if that meant missing out on many opportunities to compete at the highest level.
“A lot of people were disappointed that I didn’t compete on Sunday, and said they wanted to see me win world titles. Even though I wanted to test myself against the best athletes in the world, I never did because I made the decision to not compete on Sunday at a young age, and it just became non-negotiable as I progressed in the sport.”
As a teenager, Jordan says the sport “was becoming part of who I was, it helped a lot with the way I carried myself, gave me confidence.”
Jordan also says that his Jiu-Jitsu has helped him in other ways, such as when he was serving a two year volunteer mission with his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Russia. He says that Jiu-Jitsu is a sport of thinking and planning, and reading your opponent. This helped him to recognize, listen and discern what people’s needs were, so he could help them in the best way possible.
“While my father was teaching the Jiu- Jitsu class,” he recalls, “I developed great observational skills and was around adults a lot, so I could mentor people quite well, and observe where they needed to improve. I could help them with incremental improvements in their style.”
Jordan Chick served a two year volunteer mission in Russia.
Jordan Chick served a two year volunteer mission in Russia.© 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.According to EssentialBJJ.com, the word “jiu jitsu” derives from the Japanese “Jū” meaning “gentle” and “Jutsu” meaning “art”; essentially, jiu jitsu is the “gentle art”.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a predominantly ground-based martial art, using the principles of leverage, angles, pressure and timing, as well as knowledge of the human anatomy, in order to achieve a non-violent submission of one’s opponent.
Jordan is not only excelling in this sport, he is also benefiting in other parts of his life from the principles taught in it.
Added to this, at the core of his experience, is the example of his dad, who taught him that sport can be a worthy and enjoyable activity, but there are higher values and opportunities available to all of us, such as faith, worship, gratitude, and service to others.