Jersey 'adaptive' athlete aims for more medal success

Thursday 21 December 2017

A Jersey adaptive athlete, who was born with only one fully formed limb, is aiming to win more jiu-jitsu medals in 2018 after bringing home a top gold and a silver medal this year.

39-year-old Stuart Penn competed in the first ever para-Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in Abu Dhabi in April after the local Royal family saw a video of his 'grapplathon.'

Stuart was only born with his right arm due to what doctors called a 'spontaneous mutation.' However, he says his parents never treated him differently and always made sure he went to 'normal' schools and took part in activities and sports like other children. He explained: "They told me that anything was possible and that there was no such thing as 'I can't.' I started judo at 11 and then move to taekwondo at 13, later I qualified as an instructor but never really focused on competition."

Born in Birmingham, Stuart moved to Jersey with his wife, who is from the island, exactly seven years ago at Christmas. After a few months in the island, one of his colleagues suggested he tried Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the GracieBarra Jersey. The first lesson was ... unusual. "The coach told me to remove all my prosthetics. It was the first time I was doing sports without them, I thought it was fascinating. 

"The training went well but it was the hardest thing I had ever done, and I consider myself fit. There were a lot of impacts!"

For a few years, Stuart, who works for the Education Department on Trackers, the Apprentice programme, focused on his training and on trying to rise the profile of the Limb Service, a UK charity which provides support to 40 amputees on the island.

In a bid to raise funds and awareness for them, Stuart set himself the challenge to take part in a 12-hour graplathon. From 7:30 to 19:30, he was grappling opponents who changed every 30 minutes. "It nearly killed me," Stuart laughs. "When I got in the car at the end of the day I broke down in tears. My children were wondering what was happening but it was happy tears!"

Videos from the graplathon caught the eye of the Royal Family in Dubai. They decided to invite him to the first ever para-Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in Abu Dhabi and Stuart's hopes for a quiet 2017 ended. "I thought I would be able to get fat this year but instead I trained for four months before flying to Abu Dhabi. It was an amazing experience. There were 30 amputees and people who disabilities and it was like a festival. It was a good competition and very entertaining."

Pictured: Stuart's grappling skills helped him win a Gold medal in Abu Dhabi. (John Liot)

Stuart fared well in the competition, his first in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He faced Sean Fong, an Australian athlete, 20 kilos heavier than him. "I lost but I still got silver, which is not so bad. It was an honour to fight Sean." In his second fight, Stuart was hoping for a 'lighter opponent' but his wish didn't come true. "The other guy was 30 kilos heavier and was only missing a foot," he notes. Yet, Stuart prevailed and won Gold thanks to his fighting skills. 

But he didn't stop there, he then took part in an able-bodied tournament in the UK. He lost his fight "on points" and was understandably frustrated but one thing changed his outlook completely. "At the end of the fight, the fighters tidy up their belts and salute the audience. I stood up and then the whole audience stood up in a standing ovation. I guess they thought it was a good fight!"

Pictured: "I want people to never give up and keep trying," says Stuart. (John Liot)

While Stuart wouldn't have said no to a year off, he will only get Christmas to rest. Early next year, he will have to go back to training as he will compete in the para-division at the London Winter International Open IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu championship in March. If he wins, and he hopes to, he will then compete again in Abu Dhabi. He says: "My hope is to continue winning and raise the profile. It is nice to win medals but I also want to inspire people to push themselves, so that they see they can achieve anything. I hope people see a benefit in seeing me fight. I want them to never give up and keep trying."

Picture Credit: John Liot.