The Jeddah Sports Tech Club, located on Hera’a Street, will be conducting a wrestling seminar for the first time in the Kingdom from March 20-22.

The seminar will be presided by Kenny Johnson, an international Olympic wrestling champion.

Johnson boasts over a thousand professional match wins nation-wide and internationally, including winning the Olympic championship in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu twice.

Johnson expressed his excitement to be visiting the Kingdom and commented about the positive reception wrestling and other mixed marital arts sports have received in the Kingdom.

“I believe that Saudi Arabia, especially Jeddah, has built a strong Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wrestling team in a very short time, and I have noticed that Saudis are now competing in mixed martial arts desert force cage fighting and are winning first place. It will be an honor for me to share my experience of wrestling with such a fast and strong growing team and help them improve their grappling tactics,” he said.

The Saudi Committee of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will be organizing the seminar.

Mohammed Abbas, member of the organizing committee, highlighted the importance of reviving marital arts sports in the Kingdom due to its historic significance.

“Learning wrestling is important because it is one of the oldest sports in the Arabian Peninsula. Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was an extraordinary wrestler, and once beat the most famous wrestler known in the Arabian Peninsula, Rakanah Bin Abdul Yazeed. So was Khalifah Omar Ibn Al Khattab. It is our culture and we should revive it and take care of it and teach it to our children so it can prosper in our region once again,” he said.

The seminar will teach participating students the art of takedowns, mix martial arts techniques, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques and how wrestling can improve Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tactics on the ground.

The seminar is open for beginners and advanced students.