BANFF – It would be safe to assume that after seeing Aven McKay on Saturday (April 13) that the 16-year-old from Canmore had been in a fight.
Redness from stress and fatigue flushed her cheeks, her hair was sweaty and askew and McKay lost feeling in her right hand. However, with a championship title belt proudly draped over her shoulder, McKay was also smiling.
The teen grappler competed in her very first super fight at the Dark Horse Grappling Series, a submission-only jiu-jitsu tournament at Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre, where she picked up the win after nearly 15 minutes of a tough and physical chess match.
“I feel absolutely amazing,” said McKay. “I’ve been training a month for this and just to be able to walk home with this belt, it’s great.”
The high schooler joked she might even wear the title belt to class this week.
In the super fight – a single bout separate from the tournament action – McKay fought against fellow grey belt Londyn Lefebvre of Edmonton.
At about six minutes in, McKay had Lefebvre in a world of danger when the local martial artist locked in an arm triangle choke and squeezed the neck and head of her opponent for nearly four minutes. However, after neither athlete tapped out in regulation, overtime was needed. Per tournament rules, each competitor was given one minute in back mount position to work for a submission while the other tried to escape. McKay escaped the submission attempt to pick up the victory.
“I’ve practiced back escapes so many times,” said McKay, adding she was confident she would be walking home with the belt.
In the two other super fights, Edmonton black belts took to the mat where Craig Shintani tapped Joey Boretski, and purple belt Shawn Cavanagh of Drayton Valley celebrated his 41st birthday by defeating blue belt John Martens of Cochrane with a heel hook.
Submission-only jiu-jitsu is becoming more popular within the community, mainly due to its more exciting do-or-die nature. In its fifth event, the organizers behind Dark Horse Grappling Series aim to continue forward in the Bow Valley, while also being open to collaborating with other tournaments in Western Canada.
Travis Erlam, head coach at Dark Horse Martial Arts in Canmore, said Saturday was one of their biggest tournaments with 300 competitors between the ages of five and 50.
“The cool thing was we had a bunch of people that just came out to watch it,” said Erlam. “I’m just super stoked on the community and how well they have supported us between the volunteers and just the community at large and wanting to see us succeed. It's awesome to have that group rooting for you.”
Taking a break from event coordination duties, Erlam, a black belt, jumped into the mix and won gold in his division, winning by submission in all four of his bouts.
Other Dark Horse athletes medalling were Jonah Ellis, Thomas Walsh, Jon Lote, Dana Noble, Willa Boyd, Jackson Young, Annabel Hove Campbell, Logan Toews and Eliot Martel.
Dark Horse Grappling Series returns June 15 at the Fenlands.
