Five members of the Intrepid Mixed Martial Arts team are setting their sights on the wild west.
The five MMA athletes will be travelling to Dallas, Texas to battle it out in the North American Grappling Association Championships on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12 and 13.
The Jiujitsu Grappling Championship no-gi & gi tournament will host more than 350,000 athletes from around the world.
Isaac Biron of the Neskonlith First Nation will be competing in the 14- to 15-yearold expert division alongside teammate and Salmon Arm local Luke Woodman-Simmonds, in the 14- to 15-year-old intermediate division.
Joining them will be Jessi Brennan, Shaun Steiner and Ryan Hunniford, all fighting at the expert level in their respective divisions.
The five members are prepared, thanks to their passionate coach Rick Dubois.
Dubois recently made his much-anticipated debut in the black-belt division at the International Brazilian Jiujitsu Federation No Gi World Championships in Los Angeles, Calif.
Dubois had previously won three gold medals in the brown-belt ranks.
Now at the highest level of Brazilian Jiujitsu, he faced some true veterans of the sport.
After submitting both of his opponents in the opening rounds, Dubois lost a close match in the final by advantage (less than one point) to former Navy Seal and longtime judo and BJJ black belt, Joel Gingery.
Further information about the club can be found on its website, www.intrepidmma.com, or Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Intrepidmma.