Locals fare well at Jiu-Jitsu tournament

SANDPOINT — Eight members of the Jiu-Jitsu team from The Integrative Athlete in Sandpoint made their presence known at the Revolution Jiu-Jitsu/Grappling tournament recently in Seattle.

More than 400 competitors from around the Northwest were on hand, with “Team Integrative/Grapplers Guild” bringing back some hardware to Sandpoint.

Leading the way was instructor Danny Clark, who never lost a point in winning the purple belt gi division and the advanced (highest level) non-gi grappling division. A former collegiate wrestler at the University of Virginia, Clark described Jiu-Jitsu as he sees it.

“A comprehensive grappling art designed to allow an opportunity for any student to be able to confidently defend themselves,” said Clark, who has more than 20 Jiu-Jitsu students. “Jiu-Jitsu is the backbone of any self-defense system.”

Also faring well at the Seattle tournament was Forrest Therrien, who finished fourth out of more than 20 competitors in the gi division. Curtis Mickelson finished fifth in the same division. Cole Thompson finished third in his gi division to round out the local placers.

All eight of the competitors registered a win, and also garnered the respect of the bigger teams from the Portland and Seattle areas.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who are really hungry to learn and compete,” said Clark. “The guys are working super hard.”

The Integrative Athlete has been in business for eight months, and is located in the Cedar Street Bridge. Besides Jiu-Jitsu, yoga, fitness and kettlebell classes are also offered.

For more information, visit “www.theintegrativeathlete.com.”