A season of hard work and training all came together for two brothers at a Red Deer grappling tournament last Saturday.
Unfortunately, Paul and Marc Lanouette were both bested in their respective weight categories — and both by fighters they described as their nemeses.
While the tournament itself, known as the ‘Submission Series,’ has been going on for years this year marked a change of format, establishing it as a provincial tournament.
“This the first year where they tried to incorporate tournaments in Southern Alberta as well and try to make it a provincial tournament,” Marc said.
He added the format didn’t work as well as organizers had hoped, since some of the fighters from southern Alberta weren’t able to attend. As a result he got two byes and only had two fights in his middleweight division.
A victory over the first-place fighter from the Calgary tournament earned him a spot in the final match, but he couldn’t overcome Edmonton’s Rob Thompson and walked away with a second-place finish.
Marc was forced to tap out after getting caught in Thompson’s arm bar, which is a pretty definitive end to a match.
“I fought it off for, it had to be at least a minute or maybe two. He kept working for it and eventually got it,” he said.
Paul faced a different set of challengers in his light heavyweight division, including Fort Saskatchewan’s Sam Spinelli, who bested him in the final match.
It was with pride he noted that he lost on points as opposed to a submission, but said he was nonetheless unhappy with his performance against the younger and more experienced competitor.
“He’s got me beat in every way on paper. He’s more technical than me, he’s been training longer and he holds a higher belt than I do,” Paul said, but added there are many variables to consider and that doesn’t always mean a sure win. “I’m actually very disappointed.”
The brothers both train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a grappling style pioneered by a Japanese master in Brazil in the early part of the 20th Century. Although the Submission Series tournament welcomes competitors with all stylistic backgrounds, Jiu-Jitsu tends to be the dominant style.
“There were a couple guys who were predominantly wrestlers, but they knew jiu jitsu as well,” Marc said.
“Wrestlers are good at taking it to the ground, but once they’re on the ground the Jiu-Jitsu guy is going to beat the wrestler,” Paul added.
Saturday’s tournament marks the end of the season for the two fighters, but both said they will train throughout the winter to prepare themselves for next spring’s tournaments.
