QWF chief hails Machado visit to Qatar, jiu-jitsu circle creates buzz

Qatar Wrestling Federation (QWF) president has hailed the visit of globally acclaimed martial arts expert Rigan Machado who headlined two jiu-jitsu events at separate venues in Doha.
Machado, 56, is an 8th degree red and white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning his rank under Carlos Gracie, Jr.
He was in Doha for five days.
QWF president Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid al-Thani – who was present during the seminar held at Qatar SC and the tournament held at Al Ahli Sports Club – said the jiu-jitsu community in Qatar gained a lot from the presence of Machado, a renowned figure in Hollywood movies featuring martial arts.
“Professor Rigan Machado is one of the legendary names in this sport. His presence at our tournaments gave us a huge insight on the latest development in the sport,” Sheikh Fahad told local media after Machado’s visit recently.
“We were delighted to have him here. It was fantastic to see the community together learning from the master. He also gave great feedback on the events and was impressed by the level of jiu-jitsu in Qatar,” he said.
“The Qatar Jiu-Jitsu Committee along with the QWF have devised a strategy and a pathway that leads to the Asian Games in China this year. Such tournaments are part of the development tool for our federation which is looking to develop local referees and judges and build a continuous educational programme for our managing and technical staff,” Sheikh Fahad said.
“Since being appointed as head coach of the Qatar national team, Professor ‘Ismail’ Bass has been instrumental in building and developing local talent such as Ahmed al-Jehani who showed massive improvements winning medals in various championships in such a short space of time,” he added.
“He also helped develop the first Qatari black belt in Sheikh Salman al-Thani,” the QWF president pointed out.
“The future is bright for the Qatar combat sports community in general and specifically jiu-jitsu. There is a constant growth and increasing numbers of participants in the local activities organised by the Qatar Jiu-Jitsu Committee and the federation.
“The Asian Games is not the end of the road. Rather it’s an evaluation step headed towards developing a full squad for 2030 Doha Asian Games,” he said
Professor Ismail informed that the two-day seminar and tournament was the third major jiu-jitsu gathering held in Qatar.
“There were athletes from Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait and just about all nationalities living and working in Qatar were represented. There were athletes from the US, UK, Tunisia, Algeria and the Philippines besides many Qatari jiu-jitsu fans. All in all, there were 100 athletes at the event headlined by Machado,” he said. “We brought in Machado specially for these events. He was here for five days during which he had meetings with the federation officials and athletes currently active in jiu-jitsu competitions. He was called in as Qatar is preparing for the Asian Games to be held in China later this year. There were seminars that he attended,” Professor Ismail said.
“This was his second visit to Qatar. He was here around eight years ago. He was very impressed with what he saw. When he was here earlier, there were two jiu-jitsu schools in Qatar. Now there are eight,” he added. “Machado, as we know, is the man responsible for all jiu-jitsu action we see in Hollywood blockbuster movies. He has engaged with top actors like Keanu Reeves, Ashton Kutcher, Jason Statham etc,” he explained.
“I am the person responsible for jiu-jitsu taking root in this country. I came to Qatar in 2009 and brought Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the country. Since then we have won 160 medals in local and international competitions.
“I’m from Ann Arbor, Michigan, the home of (NFL icon)Tom Brady and (Olympic Games) swimming giant Michael Phelps,” he said.
“Ahmed al-Jehani, the Asian number two and the world number three, is my student. He’s won medals around the world, recently in Egypt and Jordan. He’s 32 and has a very good work ethic,” he added.
“We are confident of taking the sport to all corners of the country and helping interested athletes learn the finer points of the sport from the best. It is going to be a busy year for all of us and we look forward to all the activities lined up by the committee,” he said.