Danso Adjei Jnr, son of Dr. Nick Danso Adjei, Executive Chairman of Ghana Link Network Services Ltd who lives in the US where he is vested in the sport, took advantage of spending the Christmas holidays in Ghana to compete at the 2023 Open Jiu Jutsu and Combat Jiu Jutsu Beach Championship staged by the GJJF in conjunction with the National Sports Authority (NSA).

In the end, he emerged top of the keenly contested heavyweight category, just managing to overcome his training partner in the US, John Chitandas Nii Kwaatei Quartey into the runner-up spot, with local hero, Isaac Commey propping up in 3rd.

“I’m delighted to have competed in the sport I like here in my country, it’s overwhelming and in grateful for the opportunity,” Nick Adjei Danso Jnr said after his victory.

“I believe I’m tough but these guys are tougher from the competition I saw them put out today. I will urge Ghanaians to throw their full weight behind Jiu Jutsu because it can help restore Ghana’s lost glory in global sports,” he urged.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on participating at the 2023 world championships in Latvia, the Ghana Jiu Jutsu Federation ensured a happy ending to the year by hosting the beach tournament which adds more plusses to the swiftly burgeoning sport in this country.

Aside the heavyweights, competitions for both male and female categories were very high, amid ample demonstration of how quickly Jiu Jutsu is rising in Ghana.

In the event, Mercy Akorle came first in the close contact girls competition, with Rabiatu Seyi taking second place and Jessica Okine the 3rd spot.

Close contact boys 13-15 year group action saw Alhassan Ntiakum emerging winner, Joseph Frimpong finished 2nd whilst the third position went to Daniel Squire.

Close contact 55-60 kg category saw Prince Larbie take 1st position, 2nd was Joshua Commey with Simon Okine  carrying 3rd place.

In other events, Nii Adjei Dromo Okang won the B.J.J. lightweight division by beating Owusu Amoah and Godfred Lamptey in that order.

Edmond Akator meanwhile won the full contact 60-64 action after defeating Eugene Abbey Annan into the runner-up spot.

Charles Lamptey also overcame Abdul Malik for a first and second finish in the close contact 58-64 division.

The programme would feature, for the first time, a Jiu Jitsu performance adding up to the traditional performances of Judo and Karate-Do.

The event would see schools including St. Dominic’s Senior High Technical, St. Roses SHS, Kadjebi Asato Junior High School, Presbyterian Boys Senior High School, and St. Mary’s Senior High School competing for glory.

Others are Achimota School, Labone Senior High School, Bueman SHS, St. Theresa’s school and St. Thomas Aquinas SHS.

Extra performances from JICA, Accragio, E-Flex, and the JOCV will also be held at the colourful festival.

The inter-cultural and sports festival will be graced by the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mochizuki Hisanobu.

Yosakoi is a unique style of dance that originated from Japan and is performed at festivals and events. The first Yosakoi festival was held in Japan, Kochi on the Island of Shikoku in 1954.

Credit: Michael D. Abayateye

The Ghanaian team have been preparing all year for the tournament organised by the International Ju Jutsu Federation (CJJIF) which involved a host of countries across the world.

This was preceded by the Africa Open tournament which was held in Accra in June.

The Local Organising Committe in collaboration with Latvia Immigration duly issued visa consents to all registered and accredited national teams, Ghana included.

Latvia, a country within the Schenghen enclave in Europe, with no working embassy in Accra, mandated the Swiss embassy to formally issue the necessary travel documents to accredited athletes and officials in order for them to make the trip to the 10-12 November competition.

But in a strange turn of events, the Swiss embassy dragged their feet for weeks over the simple task of issuing visas already approved by Latvia Immigration, with the excuse that there was no convenient date to book appointments for the entire Ghanaian team.

In all,  a total of 20 countries, among them, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, Peru, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, took part in the 3-day competition, but minus any of the accredited African teams.

Nigeria, Algeria and Benin, like Ghana, experienced similar rejection and as a result, no single country from this continent was represented at the world championship which ended on Sunday.

This development has left many of the African sides infuriated at the conduct of the Swiss embassy, not least Ghana Ju Jutsu Federation Vice-President, Evans Bernie-Johnson.

“These embassies don’t respect us Africans, meanwhile we are the same continent where they get a lot of our resources to boost their economies,” Mr. Bernie-Johnson fumed.

“These athletes have trained, morning, afternoon and evening and at the end, no tournament to participate in. It has already started having negative impact on their attitude towards training,” the Ghanaian Ju Jutsu chief added.

His Nigerian counterparts who also competed at the Africa tournament in Ghana were even fiercer in disgruntlement, demanding a reimbursement of their visa fees, the least of their time and money spent on the now failed endeavour.

“We lost so much money. Why did we pay 200 Euros for something that will not be respected? The President should ask them to refund that money,” said Micklem Emechete-Attoh, President of Combat Ju Jutsu Federation of Nigeria.

“The Nigerian team spent N6million (six million Naira) to attend the Ghana event as a pride of CJJIF. We showed that we can move by bringing even Benin Republic to join the train and some people thought we do not have a stake at CJJIF. They need to refund that 200 Euros please,” he added furiously.

International Ju Jutsu President, Vladyslav Shypinskyi was equally disappointed in the failure of the African teams to make it to Latvia for the global competition and has tasked African governments to collaborate more with the embassies to avoid these controversies in future.

“Dear friends, I support your indignation. We worked hard to hold the World Championships and to facilitate the arrival of participants from all over the world. When someone cannot come, it hinders our work and brings disappointment,” Mr. Shypinskyi said.

“The (Latvia) Immigration Service received the money and gave permission to enter. But embassies discriminate against teams from African countries and do not issue visas without explaining the reasons. This is extremely unfair and hinders the development of sports,” he continued.

“I think you need to contact the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of your countries so that they seek justice through diplomatic channels. It is also important to receive diplomatic support from the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the CCJIF chief urged.

Parading a host of budding stars, most of who were nurtured and trained in the various regional tournaments staged across the country in the past five years since the sport started taking roots, Team Ghana swept a total of 39 medals comprising 13 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze at the end of the 2-day competition.

The first of it’s kind to be held on the African continent and fully sanctioned by the International Combat Ju Jutsu Federation (CJJIF), Nigeria came second with 3 gold medals, 2 silver and 1bronze to bring their tally to 6.

Germany, the only non-African team did not leave without keeping their pride intact as they bagged three medals in sum following a gold, a silver and a bronze feats at the D.G. Hathiramani Hall of the Accra Sports Stadium in the heart of the Ghanaian capital with the Ambassador of Peru, His Excellency Abel Cardenas among the special guests.

Aside a total of 15 officiating personnel who were presented with certificates, all winning athletes received medals, certificates and for the ultimate in each category, products from the Electroland Ghana Limited sponsors, much to the satisfaction of the organisers.

“I’m very happy with the participation and competiton. Even our global president said that their first competition when they started featured just one country but we have two more countries, Nigeria and Germany join Ghana so we are very happy for hosting a very successful tournament,” said Evans Bernie-Johnson, Vice President of Ghana Ju Jutsu Federation.

“For the medal count, Ghana is way ahead. You know we are the pacesetters in Africa and gradually ju jutsu is growing. You can see the numbers from our previous events have quadrupled and day by day more people are getting to understand the game and are putting resources to get on board,” Mr. Bernie-Johnson continued.

“We are extremely grateful to Electroland Ghana Limited, dealers in NASCO and Samsung products. They have done marvelously well because if not for them, we couldn’t have given out these electronics items to them. We have put smiles on their faces,” he added.

In the event, Ejeba Abdul Rahman of Nigeria came tops in the close contact 100kg category, beating Felix Amoo Jnr of Ghana into second spot whilst Martin Opitz of Germany scooped the bronze.

In the full contact 90 kg division, Ghana’s highly decorated combat fighter, Jonathan Euro went home the winner after beating Christian Eziora of Nigeria in the final. Third place went to Bill Emmanuel of Ghana.

The close contacf 75 kg category saw a clean sweep by Ghana as Hamza Mohammed took gold, Ishmael Lamptey the silver and Samuel Nii Oblie Ofoli Quaye finished third.

Another Ghanaian fighter, Isaac Commey topped the full contact 70 kg competiton, upstaging countryman Edmund Akator into the runner-up position as Nigeria’s Khalil Yussif took the bronze.

The 65 kg division saw another clean Ghanaian sweep as Simon Okine claimed gold, Prince Labbie annexed silver and bronze went to Enoch Abbey, same as Malik Adjei taking gold, Joshua Commey winning silver and Abraham Thompson the bronze in the 60 kg division.

In a further demonstration of their readiness for the future, Team Ghana also grabbed all three top spots in the junior males under 15 years’ category, Alhassan Ntiakum, Emmanuel Okyere and Kelvin Asamoah claiming the gold, silver and bronze in that order, very much what happened in the under 13s event where Nathaniel Osei, Prince Akakpo and Daniel Quaye finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Male Brazilian ju jutsu (BJJ) 60 kg event was won by Joshua Commey of Ghana with the silver medal going to his compatriot, Blessing Nii Ayi Quaye whilst Abdul Basit, Shato Mustapha and David Apoh took gold, silver and bronze in that order in the 65 kg division.

In the women’s competition, Lucy Ojebo became the first to win a gold medal for Nigeria by defeating Felix Amoelisa Vogt of Germany, with Ganga Alicia Anakina of Ghana taking the bronze.

Annilore Adusu, Jessica Okine and Priscilla Ofosua completed a Ghana top three in the females under 15 years division whilst Elisa Vogt of Germany won gold in the female BJJ 60 kg event for under 13s as Ganga Alicia Anakina took silver to complete her personal double.

Having operated in Accra since 2017 and now having sprung up wings across Ghana, with 10 regional offices, the GJJF finally met the mandatory quota which previously prevented the NSA from sanctioning their hosting of an international event last year.

The GJJF can now start preparing to host the Open Africa championships featuring European, Asian, American and of course African countries after receiving a certificate of recognition from the NSA to become the 48th sanctioned sport association in this country.

“I’m very happy that after our hardwork did not end in vain and we have been given the nod to operate fully and organise the African championship,” said Master Maxwell Borketey Borquaye, President of Ghana Jiu Jitsu Federation.

“But we are not going to rest on our oars, this is the time we are going to work harder than before.  We thank the NSA boss for helping and guiding us to attain all the requirements to successfully gain this certificate of recognition,” he added.

Prof. Peter Twumasi, Director-General of the National Sports Authority presented the certificate of recognition to Mr. Borquaye and other executives of the association at a short ceremony at the NSA offices at the Accra Sports Stadium on Wednesday.

He then hailed the impact of jiu jitsu, a self-defence sport within the martial arts genre, on not just the economy of Ghana when good athletes win laurels internationally, but also could come in handy for individuals especially the vulnerable in society like women and children to be able to defend themselves at all times.

“I must commend you for the good work you have done since starting with this association, we feel encouraged by your tenacity to succeed in the face of difficulties like not even getting the nod to host the Africa Open championship you had invested a lot in,” Prof. Twumasi said.

“Not only does your sport create employment opportunities for the youth but it can help teach some of our defenceless women and kids how to defend themselves from unexpected attacks. I think I would have to take you to my hometown to start teaching jiu jitsu,” the NSA boss added.

Also appreciative of the development is the GJJF 1st Vice President, Ade Sawyerr who is already plotting strategies to expand the sport even wider.

“We are most grateful that we have come this far, and our toils haven’t been in vain. We will make sure to spread jiu jutsu across all the regions of Ghana for this sport to become a household name,” Mr. Sawyerr said.

Not to be left out is the 2nd Vice President of GJJF, Evans Bernie-Johnson whose special appeal is to students and aspiring journalists to get trained with jiu jitsu skills which could come in handy in their line of work.

“It will be possible and it’s possible that we inculcate it into schools especially GIJ (Ghana Institute of Journalism) so that each and every journalist who graduates there will come out well equipped with self-defence skills,” he appealed.

“That way, whenever he or she is attacked on the work, reporting on the field, they can defend themselves and defend well,” Mr. Bernie-Johnson said.

Held on the fringes of the sea at the Ocean Hotel, Kpasrakope Border Beach, the seminar which came off on Easter Saturday, 16 April saw 27 participants who were tutored the rudiments of the game before the combat tournament rocked the ocean setting two days later on Easter Monday.

In the event patronised by a host of dignitaries including the regional Jiu Jitsu President, Joyce Selorm A. Vodjogbe and a number of executives as well as the the Volta Regional NSA Sports Director, Daniel Sarpei  and Sports Development Officer, David Sakyi, a total of 32 athletes competed in 4 categories which were ages 10 to 12 yrs, 14 to 15yrs, featherweight and lightweight.

National head coach, Maxwell Borquaye was also around to conduct and supervise both events.

Young Kelvin Drove emerged the winner in the 10-12 years division, beating Pius Agbeko into second place whilst Yao Ezekiel won the category 14-15yrs tournament with Solomon Akpavor finishing as runner-up.

In the featherweight division, Junior Essah took first position, followed by his brother, Frank Essah in second spot and  Desmond Ahatsi in 3rd.

Chris B. Vincent meanwhile topped the lightweight category, Henry Awala took second spot and 3rd position went to Richie Anane.

“As the Regional coach, I am so happy and glad about the performance of my athletes, their dedication to training and the zeal they have put into this tournament shows that there are golden talents in the Volta Region that has to be unearthed,” said Paul Johnson Awa, Volta Regional head coach of course

“We hope that in our next tournaments people will come out to sponsor, so that the art can be expanded from district to district,” he prayed.

“I thank all the athletes for their stunning performance and also their parents for availing their children for training sessions and also the tournament,” Coach Awa added gratefully.

Other executives of the Volta Regional Jiu Jitsu Federation present aside the President, Madam Joyce Vodjogbe were Solomon Asante (Vice-President in charge of administration), Victor Ackom (Technical Director), Paul Johnson Awa (head coach), Alhassan Mohammed (PRO), Rashid Assatchi Abdul (treasurer), Georgia Hackman (medical) as well as the two NSA reps, Daniel Sarpei and David Sakyi.

More photos from the tournament below:

Simon Koku Guikpor, Head of Technical of the Ashanti Region National Sports Authority inducted the 6-member regional executive including himself into office at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in the Ashanti Regional capital on February 25 to steer the affairs of the combat sport in that part of the country.

In the event, the newly inducted executives are Kwame Kyeremeh Gyimah as President, Dwumah Norbert Kwadwo (Technical Director), Frank Addo Andrews (PRO), Emmanuel Ofori Appiah (Administrator), Adams Ishak of the NSA as Secretary and of course Simon Koku Guikpor as Head of Technical.

They began a 4-year mandate immediately with the mission to develop and promote jiu jutsu in the Ashanti Region aimed at raising good athletes to eventually represent Ghana in international competitions.

Technical Director and head coach of the Ghana Jiu Jutsu Federation, Maxwell Borketey Borquaye also took the athletes through some ju jutsu demonstrations of the techniques of the art.

This brings to seven (7) the number of regional bodies so far inaugurated by the Ghana Jiu Jutsu Federation across the country, something that excites 1st Vice-President of the association, Evans Bernie-Johnson as the hosting of the Jiu Jutsu Africa Open championship featuring European nations in Accra later this year.

International Combat Ju Jutsu Federation (ICJJF) President, Shypinskyi Vladslav visited Ghana at the end of last year primarily to unveil Ghana as hosts of the 2022 Combat Ju Jutsu Africa Open but the NSA insisted the Ghanaian federation met it’s regional requirements first.

“This is another huge step in the right direction for Jiu Jutsu in Ghana. Ashanti Region have already started massive recruitment and promotional drive, this formal institution can only push them to work even harder to produce many good athletes for our national team,” Mr. Bernie-Johnson said.

“We are still determined to host the Africa Open tournament in Ghana this year and we are gradually establishing our presence all over the country which is a requirement by the NSA. We have done Greater Accra,
Central, Volta, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo and now Ashanti Region,” he continued.

“We are preparing to be present in all the 16 regions in Ghana. The next region is the Oti Region and all will follow gradually and I’m sure with the right conditions, we can do it,” Evans Bernie-Johnson emphasised.

The National Sports Authority (NSA) which insisted the local federation ensure they complete all the documentations necessary for any sporting association to host international events, have indicated their readiness to support the Ghana Ju Jutsu Federation get full recognition and hosting status as soon as possible.

“We are proud of the little progress that this sport has made within the short time of working in Ghana and their determination to host such big international competition is worth commending. We assure them of the NSA’s support but we just want the right procedures to be followed,” said Kwame Amponfi Jnr, Deputy Director-General of the NSA who represented the Director-General at the event.

“We must also applaud Exim Bank for agreeing to partner and support this sport at this early stage. We will guide and support them to market Ghana internationally to win more medals for us, the NSA is willing to work with them and assist them to fluorish when they finally get the green light,” added Mr. Amponfi Jnr.

International Combat Ju Jutsu Federation (ICJJF) President, Shypinskyi Vladslav who arrived in Ghana on Saturday primarily to unveil Ghana as hosts of the 2022 Combat Ju Jutsu Africa Open, expressed appreciation for the massive hospitality he has received from Ghanaians during his time here and was hopeful the right steps will be taken to ensure the competition is staged here in Accra as planned.

“This is a very ancient Japanese system of martial arts which has evolved over the years and Team Ghana did very well and impressed a lot of us when they participated for the first time in the world championship in Ukraine about three months ago. So we know there is massive potential here,” Mr. Vladyslav said in his speech.

“I am here to help you develop the sport in your country, to help you develop the sport in Africa. We are committed to support you all the way. Thank you for your hospitality, you are very friendly and we are excited with this partnership,” added the ICJJF chief.

Ghana Export and Import Bank (Exim Bank) have adopted Combat Ju Jutsu and barely a month ago supported them with a cash of Gh¢20,000 and also hosted Tuesday’s purported launch.

Though the date for the event wasn’t confirmed, Exim Bank are not in any way dissuaded, revealing that they are still committed to the sport and have hailed the achievements of the relatively infant Ghana Combat Ju Jutsu Federation so far.

“I think we are more aligned to this sport, it’s more like the Ga traditional fights so we are happy to support this event especially hosting the championship in Ghana during which athletes and officials from several countries will be here, sleep in our hotels, eat our food and buy our products. This clearly aligns with our import, export and foreign exchange vision and objectives at Ghana Exim Bank,” said Exim Bank General Manager, Finance, Isaac Amissah who spoke on behalf of the CEO.

“Our mission is to earn more foreign exchange for the country, we are the hub of import and export to and from Ghana. And this sport is great for helping young Ghanaians, we need a healthy youth for the future good of Ghana,” Mr. Amissah affirmed.

Chairman of the occasion, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, the renowned founder and leader of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach hailed the impact of sports and urged the youth to embrace Combat Ju Jutsu for like all sporting disciplines, it has enormous positive gains.

“It’s a big privilege to be here, I was there with them at the introductory stage of this sport so I think it’s not out of place for them to recognise me as chairman of this event and I am very grateful,” Rev. Dr. Tetteh began.

“Sports is life, let’s use sports to bring success to the society. Sports goes beyond religion, politics and tribe so let’s all embrace it. It can help a lot of young men who are not privileged to be educated. If you go to Akoto Lante or James Town (in Accra) where I was born, a lot of people without any qualifications whasotever have become successful through boxing,” he added.

Following Ghana’s impressive outing at the recent ju jutsu world championship in Ukraine, the global chief is in the West African country to reaffirm the international body’s commitment to expanding to new frontiers beginning with unveiling Ghana as hosts of the 2022 Africa Open Ju Jutsu championship.

Over 30 countries, including European and Asian will be expected to throng Accra to compete in the tournament which will be officially launched by the ICJJF boss at the Exim Bank in Accra on Tuesday.

Before then, Mr. Vladyslav is expected to pay courtesy calls on key dignitaries including Sports Minister, Hon. Mustafa Ussif, the Director-General of National Sports Authority, Prof. Peter Twumasi, the first ever female Accra Mayor, Hon. Elizabeth Sackey, former Mayor of Accra, Hon. Okoe Vanderpuye, the Ga Mantse, Nii Teiko Tsuru II among others.

Officials of Ju Jutsu Ghana who were at the airport to welcome Shypinskyi Vladyslav to Ghana included Shakiratu Larteef (President), Evans Bernie-Johnson (Vice President), Lucy Larteef (Treasurer), Maxwell B. Borquaye (Technical Director) and his assistant, Jacob Annan.

Also present were some combat ju jutsu athletes including Team Ghana captain at the Ukraine world championship, Abdul Malik Adjei.

“We are very excited by the arrival of the world President, it’s a huge boost for Combat Ju Jutsu Ghana,” said Ju Jutsu Ghana Vice-President, Evans Bernie-Johnson.

“We are also delighted with the prospect of hosting the Africa Open. A lot of African countries like Egypt, Nigeria, Congo wanted to host it but because of our performance at the world championship held in Ukraine in August, the President said we have the talents, so he wants us to host the tournament to unearth more talents and produce world champions as well,” he added.