Jiujitsu: Lindsay hungry for more medals

Jiujitsu was the discipline that helped Philip Lindsay lose 30kg and turn his life around.

An added bonus was to win two gold medals at last month's Pan Pacific championships in Melbourne.

He was part of the five-man Dunedin Brazilian jiujitsu team that competed in the international tournament against teams from Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

The team brought back seven medals - two gold, one silver and four bronze - and Lindsay was crowned top in his age group.

Benoit Auvray, Cris Anderson and Lindsay all qualified for the world tournament that will be held in Brazil or California next year.

The Dunedin club was placed in the top 10 teams at this year's championships.

Lindsay (31), a registered nurse, lived an active life when growing up at Hokitika.

He represented the West Coast in age group rugby, swimming and athletics.

But he became less active when he settled into work as an adult and quickly ballooned out to 124kg.

"I was not confident, unmotivated and unfit," he said.

Lindsay took up jiujitsu five years ago and as he reduced his weight he became confident in himself and the excess fat fell off.

"I lost 30kg in a year," he said.

"I ate a healthier diet but it was the exercise I got from my jiujitsu that made the difference. It gave me the confidence and drive to be healthier."

The bonus from this effort and discipline for Lindsay was to win five gold medals at the Pan Pacific championships at Melbourne in the last two years.

Last year, as a blue belt, he won three gold medals and a bronze.

This year he was promoted to the higher purple belt category and won two more gold medals.

These came in the under 97kg weight class in the Master Gi (uniform) and No Gi (no uniform) classes in the masters 30 to 35 age group.

"I was ecstatic," Lindsay said.

"It's the third highest jiujitsu competition in the world and I was promoted to a higher class this year.

"I considered it to be a learning experience for me and did not expect to come back home with medals."

Lindsay not only won the knock-out competition, but won it decisively by forcing both his Australian opponents to submit in the final.

Benoit Auvray, a blue belt in the masters aged 30 to 35 grade, won a silver and three bronze medals in the 73kg to 79kg weight class.

Black belt Cris Anderson, the chief instructor at the club, won a bronze medal in the No Gi (no uniform) 73 to 79kg class.

The Dunedin Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy has 20 regular members at its headquarters in the old Scout Hall at Wakari.