Last Saturday (28/06/08) saw members of the BlueWave Fight Team head across the country to Birmingham, which played host to this years Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) National Open.

Renowned internationally as the most prestigious submission grappling tournament in the world, the ADCC British and Irish Nationals serve as a qualification for the ADCC European Trials and are the first step towards gaining entry into next years World Championship to be held in the United States.

Submission grappling is a sport which combines disciplines such as Brazilian jiu jitsu, Olympic freestyle wrestling, judo and Russian combat sambo with the aim being to take the opponent to the ground and obtain a submission via the use of a extensive range of joint locks or chokes. Points are also won for achieving a dominant position or reversal of a position. Submission grappling also forms a fundamental component of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) which is a sport rapidly gaining in popularity around the globe.

In the -79Kg division, Mike Tucci took the silver medal after a hard fought final. Winning his first two bouts by judges decision and submission victory via a foot lock, Mike eventually lost the final by arm-bar submission after 4 minutes.

Competing in the -100KG category, Ken Brett also won silver after losing a tough final match on points. Ken submitted his first opponent from the highly regarded SBGi gym by Kimura (arm lock) and outscored his second opponent to land a place in the final.

Special mention should also go to Lewis Sell who, on his way to finishing 4th in a tough -85Kg division, achieved an impressive guillotine choke victory over an opponent almost a foot taller than himself.

The tournament showcased some of the great wealth of talent the UK posses in modern combat sports and the BlueWave team were pleased to be part of the event.

Team members who attended (alphabetical): Ken Brett, Pat Jones, Josh Palmer, Lewis Sell, Andrew Skiff, Mike Tucci and Phil Watkins.