A young woman from Blenheim is the new Jiu Jitsu world champion in her weight class.
Rain Pfaff, 23, of Armstrong Academy of Martial Arts in Chatham fought her way to the top of the podium on behalf of Canada in Abu Dhabi last week by defeating her opponents in the 70+ kilogram division.
Pfaff dominated the competition by winning every match without a point being scored against her. Pfaff beat an opponent from Columbia, a fighter from Saudi Arabia, an then opponent from Sweden in the semi-finals, and another fighter from Columbia who was much bigger than she was in the finals.
Pfaff told CK News Today that her go-to move is a bow and arrow choke.
Pfaff said it's an amazing feeling, but quickly added there's a lot of training to get to the top of the mountain.
"Feels pretty amazing. I never thought I'd have the opportunity this early on in my training in the sport. I'm beyond thrilled to be able to represent the country and get the opportunity to travel," said Pfaff. "Honestly, I didn't even think I'd win the nationals back in June, but I just went in and gave it my all every match and things worked out."
Pfaff said she trains just about every day with the odd day of rest, feels fortunate for the opportunity to train with some teams from Toronto before her departure, and just got her brown belt before the worlds.
"I just stuck to my game plan that I had going in, listened to my coaches, and I was really happy with the way I was able to perform," she said.
Pfaff is already eyeing defence of her title in 2023, but until then she will continue competing in the Jiu Jitsu circuit.
Team Canada placed second at the 2022 Jiu Jitsu World Championships with seven medals behind United Arab Emirates which had 10 medals and ahead of Germany which won four medals.