A collection of Mudgee Martial Arts students made their way to Bathurst to compete in the ISKA Western NSW Open late February.
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For the majority, the competition was all new however, that didn't stop them from achieving some outstanding results.
Nora Hay competed in Gi and No Gi and walked away with first place in both, one and a half years after starting the sport.
"I was shocked. There actually weren't any girls in my competition so I had to fight all of the boys, they were a good fight," Hay said.
"It was definitely difficult but I did end up winning. I think adrenaline helped just from being so nervous and you hear your coach nagging you in the back of the head, Geoff and Shane have taught us well.
It's not something that everyone does, it's nice to be different and be able to brag about how special you are.
- Nora Hay
As for Sonny Magro, he placed first in No Gi and second in Gi which also came as a surprise.
"I was a bit surprised that I got first and second. I think training hard made the difference," he said.
"I was a bit nervous and worried that I was going to lose but once I started, I got used to it."
Brock Reynolds came second in both Jiu Jitsu and No Gi, while William Salter placed second in No Gi, Ruby Magro first in Gi and Arnab Ghosh third in point sparring.
I think I earnt my placings. It was very different because I've only been doing MMA for a year so it was pretty big for me to go and verse in front of people.
- Brock Reynolds
"It was cool to go and watch the adults and see some new things," Ruby said.
"It was really fun and good to be able to train properly because I can only train with people older than me," Slater added.
"I got to verse black belts which was a pretty good experience," Ghosh said.
Meanwhile, Connor McGowan competed in point sparring and continuous sparring and said the competition is something he would 'definitely' enter again.
"It was different, it was a lot harder than Sydney because there was more contact and I was in advanced rather than intermediate," he said.
"I will definitely compete again in ISKA."
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
