Set up early last year by Frenchman Alexis Plantard, Dojo, located in the Lifestyle Village at Blue Tree Phuket in Cherng Thalay, competed in the National Jiu-Jitsu championships in Bangkok last November where its students emerged with an incredible 18 medals.
“We won eight gold medals, nine silver medals and one bronze medal,” an extremely proud Alexis said.
This achievement was all the more impressive as the team had only had a few months of practice before competing in the national competition alongside almost 2,000 participants from all over Thailand.
Later in November the team competed at the National Judo Championships in Sakon Nakhon where a further medal was secured.
“We won a bronze medal and one of our students was so very close to becoming a representative of the national team,” said Alexis.
December saw students once again venture to Bangkok to compete in the fourth annual Siam Cup, Thailand’s premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, where they captured four silver medals.
According to their website, The Siam Cup is an internationally recognised platform for Thai and international athletes to gain competitive experience for personal development as well as a springboard for dedicated athletes to compete in the Asian Games, and International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) amateur and professional tournaments.
Moral code
Alexis is a fourth dan black belt in Judo and Jiu-Jitsu with 27 years’ experience practising martial arts who achieved 3rd place at both the 2018 World Judo Championships and the World Wrestling Championships in 2019. With the support of Blue Tree he still competes at international events representing his home country, France.
He established the Dojo at Blue Tree in early 2020 and has already developed a strong team of students and champions.
“The objective of the dojo is to develop martial arts values and to create a dynamic fighter community in the north of Phuket,” commented Alexis.
“The moral code of martial arts is to teach kids how to become a good person.
“It’s not about actually getting a black belt but more so about how to conduct oneself with honour and respect under the code of a black belt.”
The future prospects certainly appear to be bright for the dojo as Alexis confirmed the number of participants has increased everyday since the summer with new students arriving daily.
“For 2021 we have big expectations with the goal of helping as many of our students as possible have the chance to compete with the national teams of judo, jiu-jitsu and wrestling,” said Alexis.
“And for other students the aim is to have fun every day on the mats while developing their technique and hopefully win the maximum number of championships available.”
The Blue Tree Dojo is open daily from 10am to 7pm. All levels are welcome with the first session offered as a free trial. For further information please visit the Facebook page here or contact: 092 805 8527 or email: dojo@bluetree.fun
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