“Let’s Not Stand On Ceremony Here… Mr. Ozanne"

Thursday 30 March 2023

Four competitors from Guernsey recently attended the Allstars Brazilian Jiu Jitsu European Open, bringing home three medals, while also facing off with A-list actor, Tom Hardy.

The Gracie Barra Guernsey squad was made up of a Purple Belt, two Blue Belts and a White Belt with two coaches supporting them.

Coaches Ben Swan and Tobar MacPhail led Richard Andrews, Marcus Queripel, Tristan Ozanne and Tomas Dallos at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London last Sunday. 

Marcus (Blue Belt) and Tom (White Belt) won gold in their categories with Richard (Purple Belt) winning silver.

Tristan did not bring home a medal but he was knocked out of the competition by actor Tom Hardy, who went on to win the category.

Pictured: Marcus Queripel won Gold in his Blue Belt category at the Allstars BJJ European Open. 

Ben said: "The whole club is extremely proud of how well the team did and the strong representation of Guernsey’s BJJ standard."

He started training in Jui Jitsu in 2005, and has previously competed but is coming back from injury so he's not sure when he'll be able to fight again himself. But,  coaching and cheering on his team mates from the sidelines was as exciting, he said.

"Absolutely - it was an adrenalin run from the moment I walked in till we left.

"The main focus is your competitors and working out who the opponents are and what their game is, and you're watching your buddys and shouting instructions. At one point in particular with Tristan and Tom it was so loud. I was shouting at him (Tristan) but he wouldn't have heard me. It's quite a pent up atmosphere."

Pictured: Tomas Dallos won Gold in his White Belt category at the competition in London last Sunday.

Ben said Tristan had the upper hand for a large part of the five minute fight.

"He was knocked out by Tom Hardy - but for five minutes they were really struggling in a stand up battle. He lost by 4 points which is incredibly close. He did incredibly well.

"They all did, especially our gold medal winners - they did incredibly well. Marcus tore through his competitors in his fights.

"Tom was a big surprise on the day. He's fairly new (to the sport) and hasn't been doing it for very long. He faced a significant challenge in his second fight and he came back having been fairly well controlled for the first half. He swiped the guy and took the points and won it from what had been a difficult spot."

Pictured: Richard Andrews won Silver in the Purple Belt category.

Ben said the coaches and competitors sometimes can learn who they will be fighting ahead of the competitions as the list of entrants is released, but at amateur level there is often very little information about individuals online.

Tom Hardy entered the competition late and he used a pseudonym meaning Tristan did not know he was fighting against him until he was about to step into the ring.

The pair had spoken briefly earlier in the day, when Tristan realised they were in the same category but neither he nor his coach Ben knew they'd be up against each other until the very last moment. 

"It was a nice surprise," said Ben. "He (Tristan) did a really good job. At one pint they were on the floor, and if they'd stayed down for longer then Tristan would have had a good chance - he (Tom Hardy) was definitely tired out for his next fights."

Pictured: Tom Hardy shared the above picture on his Instagram story, featuring a shot of his fight against Guernsey's Gracie Barra team member Tristan Ozanne.

"The whole team did very well," said Ben proudly. 

"This was our first big team event - we'll probably do that one again. All Stars run several competitions and we're aiming to go to one in July. The main two in the Jui Jitsu calendar are the IBJJF and the European Open."

The sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu continues to be popular in Guernsey with two clubs and others also offered martial art cross overs.

Pictured: (back l-r) Marcus Queripel and Tomas Dallos, (front l-r) Tristan Ozanne and Richard Andrews.

There are children's classes which Ben said is something they are always trying to develop.

"We've got kids classes right from five or six year olds. We've been trying for a while to get into schools, and other things. There's certainly growing demand for kids classes.

"There are a lot of benefits to studying a martial art with defence, and dealing with aggression but none of the brutality that comes with it. It's a great way for people to enjoy martial arts."