Darian Primeau never figured she would have the opportunity to compete outside of North America, but this fall she will help represent Canada at the 2019 World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Competition in Abu Dhabi.
Primeau started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of four and competition when she was eight. Her first trainer was Ron Dupuis at Windsor Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and later with Emily Kwok in New York. She said it has played a significant role in her life, and she has competed in many competitions.
The benefits go beyond the physical exercise. Socially, her life has revolved around jiu-jitsu. Her Facebook page is replete with photos of her friends at Maximum Training Centre in Windsor, where she prepares for competition.
"I definitely like my family there. I don't have a lot of friends that don't do jiu-jitsu," she confessed. "You spend so much time there; you build so many relationships."
The 24-year-old trains about 20 hours a week and has competed in many competitions in Canada and the United States. However, after the birth of her daughter almost three years ago, she thought she had left competition behind.
"I took a couple of years, and then I wasn't in a very good relationship. I wasn't able to train, and I was raising a baby on my own, so there wasn't really much time," she explained.
Soon after returning to Canada earlier this year after living a few years in Ohio, Primeau again began training for competition. Still, the call up for Abu Dhabi was a surprise.
"I was pretty excited because I didn't think I'd ever be competing at that level again," she said. "I think if I was training more, I definitely would have expected it but I didn't expect it now considering I'm just getting back into competing."
The competition is from November 18 to November 24 and Primeau is one of 12 from Canada who will compete with other blue, purple, brown and black belts.
Before leaving for Qatar, Primeau is getting ready for another bout; this one in Indiana in October.