By David Nagel
When Leesa and Brett McIntosh walked their twin daughters Abbie and Ellie into SD Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for the first time – almost two years ago – they had very simple ambitions for their five-year-old girls.
After all, every parent wants to see their kids safe and to watch them grow into confident and well-intentioned young people.
But Leesa and Brett had no idea that the local girls from Pakenham were about to take the Jiu Jitsu world by storm!
Abbie and Ellie, quite literally, had the Jiu Jitsu fraternity seeing double after Abbie won gold and Ellie silver at the recent IBJJF Pan Pacific Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Albert Park.
The Pan Pacs is the biggest tournament in Oceania and is recognised globally by the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation.
And Abbie and Ellie dominated, fighting each other in the final, with the bout lasting the full three minutes and Abbie winning on points.
“Life skills, such as self-defence, that was the main reason we did it, but we just didn’t expect that the girls would love it as much as they have,” proud mum Leesa said of her now seven-year-olds.
“The girls were very shy when they started, but they’re even running classes at the gym now.
“Their confidence and coordination have improved so much.
“They’re coach (Silvano) was telling us to join them up in competitions, but we were just doing it for fun.
“But that one competition has now led to all of these big competitions, and now this huge one.”
Abbie and Ellie, both grey belts, showcased their defensive and attacking skills when they lined up at the Victorian State Championships earlier this year.
Once again, Abbie won gold, and Ellie silver.
“It’s just fun, we learn how to defend and attack and my best move is the arm-bar,” Abbie explained.
“It’s exciting to win the gold medal, but I just want to keep training and getting better.
“Ellie and I do have fun, but we do try and beat each other.”
Due to their near-identical features, people often get the girls confused…including referees.
“Ellie fought before me and when I walked on the referee said ‘Hey, that’s Ellie,” Abbie said with a laugh.
“But even mum and dad get us mixed up sometimes.”
One person who is accustomed to identifying twins is superstar Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, who had his own twins Sasha and Tristan competing at the event.
The girls got a photo with Hemsworth, but it did take some encouraging.
“They eventually jumped in for a photo, but the girls said ‘we don’t get photos with strangers.” Leesa said with a giggle.
“Chris Hemsworth found that hilarious.
“He was looking over and giggling when he saw the referees laughing at the girls when they faced each other in the final.”
Ellie was aware of who was in the crowd watching.
“One of them was a movie star that was watching us,” she said, before explaining why Jiu Jitsu is so much fun.
“We train four nights a week and we learn lots of stuff.
“We learn how to do chokes, how to submit people, and how to defend ourself.
“I enjoy it, it’s really good fun.
“We’re close sisters, but I want to try and get better than Abbie and win a gold medal myself.”
Ellie is closing the gap on Abbie, but Leesa is most proud of how the girls handle themselves after a bout.
“We have other coaches come up to us and tell us how good our girls carry themselves when they don’t win, especially Ellie, competing against her sister,” Leesa said.
“They always end up fighting each other, which is hard for a parent to watch.
“But ultimately, we just want them to have fun and we don’t want to push them too hard because they are only seven.
“It’s just so amazing what they’ve achieved at such a young age.”
For dad Brett, learning Jiu Jitsu has a real purpose for his young girls.
“It’s real, the girls can use the skills that they’re learning to defend themselves if they ever get into trouble,” he said.
“Older kids train with them and can’t get on top of them, and it’s great to see the skills they have learned and put them into practice.
“It’s a competitive environment, they’re trying to get better at something and that’s a positive thing to have as well.”
Abbie and Ellie will return to the state championships in March, then the nationals, before returning to international competition later next year.
