Jai Macrides and Cassidy Gillmore secure gold at Australian National Jiu-Jitsu Championships

Two South West fighting champions have walked away with national titles after taking home gold in the Australian National Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Melbourne last weekend.

Flow State Jiu-Jitsu owner and coach, Jai Macrides and his student Cassidy Gillmore returned home victorious after winning gold at the competition, bringing home a 100 per cent success rate for the Broadwater based school.

The win marked the second national gold for Macrides, having previously won the blue belt division in 2018 and this year taking out the brown belt title.

Arriving back in Perth on Wednesday afternoon, he said the victory was “still sinking in.”

“It took me a couple fights to get the win but it was a really great feeling,” he said.

“Being in Melbourne we only had a couple of friends and family there to support us compared to eastern states clubs who practically all come to the competition, so we’re really pleased.”

He was equally proud of his student of one year, Cassidy Gillmore who took out the women’s white belt division in her national championship debut.

Coming off a win at the WA State Championships in early July, Macrides described the win as the “icing on the cake.”

“Cassidy’s performance on the day was clinical, utilising all the techniques we’ve been working on in preparation for a competition at this level,” he said.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is becoming increasingly popular across the country with more than 2200 competitors from children to masters taking part in this years Nationals.