“I was a little nervous going into the expert division but I trust my professor,” said Joey “JoJo” Lujan of his expert matches at N.A.G.A (North American Grappling Association) where he competed recently.
Lujan, who is mostly known as “JoJo”, won a first place championship belt in gi and a gold medal in the No gi at a recent tournament.
“The matches were tough as expected but I was able to stick to the plan and get the finishes we were looking for–I was able to get the gold in both divisions.”
Lujan competed in the 12-13 expert gi and expert no gi and is currently a three-stripe yellow belt under professor Joey Lujan, who also happens to be his father and owner of J5s Jiu Jitsu/MMA & Fitness Center.
Professor Lujan said of Jo Jo’s matches, “I am very proud of him–the expert division means the best competitors in his age group in the state.”
When asked about how they trained for the 4 matches that he had, professor Lujan said, “We drill a lot and also implement a lot of rounds of grappling with his teammates.”
Lujan added, “He does a lot of strength and conditioning with me also and with his baseball clubs—so he stays in great shape–but we turned up the rounds before the tournament due to the long 4 minute rounds in the expert division.”
JoJo in addition to gi and no gi is an avid baseball player who pitches and plays in multiple tournaments in state and out of state. “I am truly humbled,” said JoJo of the recent matches. But like any young competitor he also said, “I am ready to get back to work.”
JoJo will surely be at a baseball mound or gym mat honing his talents for his next endeavor.