Double gold for Sophie in BJJF Euros
ROCHDALE’S two time judo Olympian and double world BJJ (Brazilian jiu jitsu) Champion Sophie Cox was in sparkling form over the weekend.
Competing in the IBJJF European Championships in Lisbon, Sophie battled to gold in the Master 2 Featherweight category.
She then went on to clinch an even more impressive gold in the open weight division.
Sophie commented “This is a really exciting top quality event attracting successful fighters from the leading European clubs over its four days. My work as lead coach for the Regional England Development Squad and my family commitments with my two young children necessarily restrict the time available for training and competition. Challenging myself to compete at featherweight posed a bit of a problem. In jiu jitsu, unlike judo, you weight in in your suit. I’m glad I arrived early for the event because I was still a little way from making the weight. I jokingly remarked to my Factory BJJ club colleague Krishna Chauhan – European bronze medallist and my coach for the day – that my belt was heavy. He produced a “mega lightweight pro competition” belt from his promotional stall for Fighters Market. That did the trick, and once I had clipped my toenails to conform to the eagle-eyed official’s stricture, I could finally prepare mentally for the intensity of the competition.
“First up was Brigitte Mondaca (Frontline Academt). A well executed leg trip gained me a quick 2 point take down and I was able to dominate from then on and won by ten points. Though this looks convincing, I almost got choked and have the mark on my chin to testify to the effort made to wriggle out of the hold.
“Then in the final I came up against a really proficient, technically experienced opponent in Yasisca Pujois (Lead BJJ). Once again my judo expertise got me the two point take down score with another leg trip. I decided against risky attempts to increase the score and opted to grind out a victory from a dominant position. Not pretty, but effective.
“It was great to see a really challenging entry for the openweight division with gold medal winners from light, middle and heavy weights competing. Here I benefitted from the expert technical sessions the chief coach at BJJ Factory Adam Adshead had provided - as well as on the spot support from Krishna.
“So I was pleased to be able to demonstrate as variety of techniques to win my three fights and secured my second gold medal of the day. Two armlocks for submissions took me into the final against Aashild Traedal (Ares BJJ Norway). This proved to be a fast moving, entertaining battle which I finally won with a shoulder choke submission. “Really vicious” as Aaschild said afterwards!”
As Sophie tweeted “A long day, one or two scary moments, tough and enjoyable jiu jitsu. Five fights, five wins, 2 golds. I went in with less than great preparation BUT the mindset of a competitor. Today I was a fighter and treated myself as such, I was out to win. Mindset can get you a long way.”