Indroop Virk has always known he鈥檚 good at fighting, but in recent years he鈥檚 been channeling his talent through competition.
The 17-year-old Grade 12 student from 麻豆社国产has been training in disciplines including grappling and jiu jitsu with the aim of making it to the Ultimate Fighting Championships level of mixed martial arts.
He鈥檚 already off to a strong start, despite his age.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a young kid 鈥� he鈥檚 still in high school,鈥� said Kasey Smith, one of his coaches. 鈥淗e鈥檚 taking the jiu jitsu world by storm鈥�. We鈥檙e all pretty proud of Indroop.鈥�
While training in different styles, he has been specializing in no gi jiu jitsu, a form in which competitors wear shorts and a T-shirt rather than the traditional gi outfit.
On March 12, Virk took part in the North American Grappling Association鈥檚 Oregon Championship in Portland.
鈥淣AGA is, like, one of the biggest organizations in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have a few tournaments a year.鈥�
Earlier this year, he competed in a large event in Philadelphia, losing out on a split decision during the finals. In Portland, though, he walked away with the belt, taking rounds one and two in a best of three. The first round lasted a little over a minute, while the second round was over in 40 seconds, as he won both with rear naked chokeholds.
Virk has spoken before about being a troublemaker in the past and how the sport helped him. He is also trying to learn from past mistakes as an athlete, even down to details like cutting weight for a competition.
鈥淚 had no ideas how hard it was going to be,鈥� he said.
Before, he鈥檇 make the mistake of eating hamburgers too soon before weigh-in, then trying to drop nine or 10 pounds in a day, whereas now he gives himself a couple of days to start the process. Once weigh-in is done, he has to start the replacing fluids he has lost as well as adding carbohydrates.
For the Oregon NAGA event, he was trying to get down to the 139-lb. class.
In general, he formally trains six days a week at mixed martial arts, jiu jitsu and kickboxing, although he also does a lot of cardio, strength and conditioning work on his own time.
Virk credits the help he received from coaches at home including Scot Strachan for Brazilian jiu jitsu and Kasey Smith for his mixed martial arts, especially when he started approximately two and a half years ago.
He trains with Smith at the Gracie Barra location in Squamish, as well as in Richmond at the mixed martial arts Checkmat Vancouver facility, run by Adam Ryan, a gold medal world champion Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, elite MMA fighter and former 麻豆社国产resident.
When Virk is done school this year, he will be attending Douglas College for post-secondary while living with family in the Lower Mainland.
Ultimately, he hopes to compete officially at mixed martial arts competitively as soon as he turns 19, starting in the Battlefield Fight League, the professional Canadian circuit from which many UFC competitors have been signed, before moving onto UFC.
In the meantime, he will continue on with his training, making sure to take care of himself whenever a competition is on the horizon.
鈥淚 feel great鈥�. I鈥檓 doing it properly,鈥� he said.
