Mohamed Ali

Summary

Mohamed Ali is a BJJ practitioner training out of trickster Jujitsu, he competes at valor combat this weekend in a tag team BJJ match up We speak about his journey into BJJ, highlights for him in his career so far and his thoughts on tomorrows match

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Okay, so I never thought I'd say this, but we are here with Muhammad Ali. He's going to be competing at Valor Combat Series, which goes down tomorrow. He's in a tag team jiu-jitsu match, which I really, really like those matchups. I commentated on the first show. They were a bit of fun, bit of crack. Uh, and it was something different. Thank you very much for joining me because it is the day before the event. So, I really appreciate your time. How you feeling? And how are you feeling about the matchup? And as a jiu-jitsu practitioner, what's your thoughts on the matchup? Because it's something I haven't seen before. What's the kind of feeling around the BJJ community with this type of matchup tag team? >> Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, David, first of all for um giving me the time on your platform. Um we're going to match uh it's it's definitely something different. It's nothing that we it's nothing we've done before. It's a tag team match is kind of kind of solves the the issue of kind of like stalling in jiu-jitsu. I feel like it addresses that issue really well. like um part of why jiu-jitsu is not like as marketable or as watchable as other combat sports um to some people is because of the the stalling and lack of action. So having a a tag team match is kind of a a nice way to kind of um mitigate that. So whenever someone gets tired instead of stalling they can just tag in their next fresh partner and and just carry the action going that way. Um I think it'll be a lot more common in in the future. We've only had maybe one or two instances um in like live events before. So, [snorts] it's definitely something that we can see growing in popularity over the over the next couple years. >> Yeah. Yeah. Cuz like that, like I said, when you get in when you get tired in jiu-jitsu, you want to kind of just hold on to someone, you want to kind of catch a breath to be able to to go on. What I liked about it though as well is if there was a close submission and you were just about to get submitted, you could tag in and then that submission is gone. as a competitor. Just say you have someone in submission and then all of a sudden they tag in. What kind do you think that'll help? Like what do you think that would do to you? Would it be like kind of take the win now? You're like like, "Oh, I nearly had him and now he's out." Do you think it adds a little bit more excitement? >> Uh, no. I think I would I would see that as a bit more of a a drive. Like I would be like, "Okay, like now I need to make sure that they're nowhere near their um tag partner." So, I would like think about how to drag them into our end of the the cage sort of thing just to make sure that if we do end up locking a submission lock in um they're nowhere near their opponent nowhere near their partner, sorry, to to be able to get out of it. >> Yeah. So, it'll bring more technique and kind of game planning and trying to keep them away. But, um yeah, I I really like the idea. But with that, there's two going in. It's purple belts, isn't it? your one. It's a purple belt one. So, you're both purple belt. So, obviously to get to here to get your purple belt, you had to start somewhere. Talk to us through your journey of jiu-jitsu. What brought you to jiu-jitsu? Uh, and and why? [snorts] >> Yeah, I mean, I started um at Trickster Juicitism since day one. Um, I've been with them ever since. Um, I started when I was in my second year of uni. Um first year of uni I came in um it was co time. Um I'm originally from Libya so I traveled all the way to get to come here for uni. Um so first year of uni was just co time. There was nothing going on. Um even studies were weren't that that interesting. Um everything was online. So I was like really dying to have something active to to to do. I hadn't done any like grappling sports in in the past. So, and with the growing like popularity of the UFC and that kind of stuff, it kind of drew me in. Um, and in the end it was just a leaflet in Queens University to um to trickster jiu-jitsu. Um, a leaflet that I don't think was approved by by university um officials or anything like that. He's just kind of dropped in there um by my coach Kell um Kell Grady who runs trickster jiu-jitsu now. Um but yeah, the that leaflet was was the start and then I ever since it's just been twice a day every day. Um yeah. Yeah, it's man like that just a leaflet into a college is so you're probably going to have a lot more jiu-jitsu clubs now trying to get leaflets into college because especially when you're kind of at uh that age kind of going into college just you like that you've moved country which is hard enough trying to find things to do and trying to keep you occupied and trying to find a new community and new friends and stuff as well. Jiu-Jitsu seems like a really really strong community from what I've seen. Like I know a lot of people I'm not involved actively in the community, but talk to us about the community and what it means to you and how cohesive it is and it's like a brotherhood not just for your club or another club but across the country. Everyone seems to stick together. [snorts] >> Yeah. No, 100%. Um I think a lot of people get into this sport for um whatever whatever reason. Um self-defense. uh trying to get more fit uh fit and active and whatever reason it is they they join they tend to stick because of the community. So they come in for the sport and stay for the community um for the for the camaraderie that had that takes place. I think in my case um it was a very strong um example of that like um [snorts] throughout like training and competing and um being injured and going to hospital and this kind of stuff like people really show you who they are in those like difficult times. Um, you know, it's all well and good like having like fair weather friends and stuff, but um when things really start to go south, that's when you find out who your real friends are. And um at times in this sport where things have um not gone the best way possible for me, the people who were there for me were people that I that I met through jiu-jitsu. Um and they don't even have to be from your same gym. Um um someone I want to give like a big shout out to is um Andy Chapman who runs the team Rhino um um affiliation up in Lima Valley. Um he was he was unbelievable um coming to support me after I got really badly injured um in an event that he was running. Um you know just just unbelievable show of support and you know people really do come out of their way to to help you out when you need it. And I think that's that's why the jiu-jitsu community is is I think stronger than most other kind of um social clubs if you will or >> Yeah. or a difference cuz I find like I would have been involved in the likes of soccer GA and stuff and I find they they kind of spinter off into groups within the team or or the squad or whatever whereas like you said Andy Chapman who I have huge respect for. Um I'm really I get I talk to him every couple of days. Um he's one of the examples of someone in BJJ. He he he wants everyone to enjoy it. He wants everyone and like that you got injured on the show and he supported you after that which just goes to show how cohesive it is. It's like when Republican jiu-jitsu had the arson attack on their thing. Everyone kind of either donated, done seminars or done something because you all know what jiu-jitsu means to you. And like I said, people might be there for a certain reason. It could be due to stress, depression. uh they could have had issues before with other things and jiu-jitsu might be the thing that keeps them going. So um talk to us about kind of to get to the belt where you are now. What was it like receiving your very first promotion though from white belt up to the next? Yeah, I mean um the first sort of promotion I got was suppose like the the stripes um on your white belt and like when you're white belt like every stripe is just like a buzz, you know, like you you get your stripe and you're you [snorts] go home and you just like start battering your friends and but it was it was really fun. I think the the belt structure in jiu-jitsu is like is something that um I think I I really I really like and I really think it's it's it's there's a definitely a place for it. Um there's a big narrative to the opposite. Uh but I I I really do believe it's it's something that should stay in the sport because it it gives you like that kind of like check mark. Um but in terms of my promotions, um I was fairly my first promotion was fairly early. Um going into blue belt, I think I'd been training maybe 10 or 11 months. So which is which is fairly early. Um most people get it within 2 years. Um but from then I I I just made sure that I always wanted to compete at at whatever level I was I was designated you know like um within a couple of weeks of me being promoted at blue competed didn't do very well just the nerves got to me but then then the other the second and third competition was much better um and then from I think getting promoted to purple belt was probably I think it might have been the earliest in um our gym certainly, but I think one of the earliest in the country in terms of just start to finish like white to white to purple and that was about 3 years um just just under three years. Uh but yeah, it was always a matter of uh I never really thought about like belt structure um like too religiously. I I made sure that it was always like developing whatever skills were expected of people competing at that level and then if my coach thought fit to to have to have me carry that belt then then that was that was it. >> Yeah. Cuz I was thinking when you said when you started jiu-jitsu and you said kind of co times you now and I was thinking purple belt like I know the kind of bel structure I don't know like 100%. I think that sounds very very quick, but I didn't want to say something because then if I said it and then you say, "No, no, should this this and then I look like an idiot." So, you just you just answered a question I didn't ask for me there. So, I really appreciate that. Is there any highlights, any competitions, any any wins or anything that kind of stand out since you've kind of started jiu-jitsu? >> Uh, yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think um in the in terms of the local scene like the um the Empire Grappling like um all Ireland opens and the the Belfast opens are always really big. Um I think teams from literally just all over the country um come to compete in that. Um I won uh I won that one at white belt and blue belt. Um I don't think I've done Oh no, I most recently won it in at Purple Belt as well. Um and then in terms of like um just um in the Republic as well, I competed in the Irish Open um at Blue Belt and I got the silver medal in that I was beat by Shane Cardy who's just an absolute savage. I'm sure you've had him on your >> on your radar. >> Yeah, he's he's unbelievable. Like um a lot of respect for him. Um but yeah, and and then um in terms of matches that I'm really um uh proud of, we had a match with Jacob Leonard out of uh Team Rhino/Team Evolve. Um that was for cancer research. Um that was like a main event uh match um in that card. And Jacob's someone I have a lot of respect for as well, like with his success in MMA and really really good grappler. So, um I was actually hesitant to take the match before until someone egged me on and was like, you know, you're at that level, you'll surprise yourself. And um yeah, it was a very fun match. I was happy to be able to go like not only win the match, but also um be able to showcase a different skill set, you know, like it's not just, you know, um guard play and leg locks and um butt scooting and all that. It's, [laughter] you know, I was able to go kind of take down for takedown with him and and um eventually get the submission in the end. So, that was a match I was really proud of. >> Yeah. And like you said, just before you just said there that you didn't even want to take the match and then you ended up winning, showing everyone a whole another side to your game. So, that's the that's why when people are hesitant or they're nervous about going into something, look at how that actually turned out consider compared to what your kind of expectation potentially was of how it was going to turn out. So it just goes show once you just go just go in and do it and and what's the worst that would have happened? You would have lost the match to the sort of way. >> Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I think it in that in that context as well um that mindset would have been the most appropriate to adopt cuz it was a as much as it was a competitive match, it it was a fundraising um event and it was for a good cause. So it was worth stepping in anyway. Um but yeah, it was definitely very fun. >> It is. It is. And tomorrow's going to be fun as well. And also, we were just speaking before we actually kind of started recording there as well. Um this is actually going to be your farewell match in Northern Ireland. Do you want to tell the people all about it? >> Yeah. uh recently announced in the gym, but um and and publicly as well on Instagram, but um just to rehash it, um moving away on the 29th, going back um to my home country of Libya. [snorts] Um yeah, that the scene has been unbelievable um for the past four years. Um made like my best friends, people have been so nice. It's it it's honestly surreal to have to, you know, just to see how far um we've come and uh yeah, it felt like felt like everything was set up specifically for me to to come here and thrive and, you know, make good friends. So, it's it just feels unbelievable and feels very sad to to finally book the ticket and fly back home. But um I think it's time that I I've I've given the sport a lot of my energy and focus and it's now time to give some of that back to my family. >> Yeah. No, I like that. I like that. I'm glad you came over to Ireland that you enjoyed your time here. Um and obviously you're going to be a big loss to your gym and your friends and people around, but I wish you the best of luck going forward uh with whatever you choose to do. I hope there's a good BJJ scene in Libya for you when you get back. I'm not sure what it's like. Um, but yeah, >> I think I'll be I'll be starting it. Yeah. >> Well, look, there you go. There's another another thing that you might not have thought you've ever done out of coming to Ireland and co hitting and and this happening, but sure life shows you curve balls and if that's what you do, that's what you do. Let me know. I'll help support you. Um, h I won't be there tomorrow because I'm I was actually pre- boobooked for another show. So, I want to wish you the best of skill tomorrow. Is there anything else you want to say before you go? I appreciate your time today. No, thank you very much, David. I really appreciate your time. Enjoyed having this interview as well. Um, best of skill to our opponents and yeah, be a fun match. >> Perfect. Perfect. Best skill tomorrow and I will talk to you soon. Thank you for your time. >> Good, man. Thank you.