Grappler builds on Silver Linings Playbook

Above: Jackson Mann and Petty Officer 2nd Class Lee Thibault react following their rematch at the Lions MMA Mixed Martial Arts Club in Vancouver.

Peter Mallett
Staff Writer

—

Petty Officer 2^nd Class (PO2) Lee Thibault has grown accustomed to grappling with problems great and small, turning them into victories.

When organizers of the recent Can-Am Martial Arts Expo in Vancouver announced a last-minute cancellation, the Small Arms Instructor at Naval Fleet School (Pacific) turned that into a positive that would pay off greatly.

“Sometimes the big and small problems you encounter in life have a way of working out for the better,” says PO2 Thibault, also coach and convener of the Esquimalt Tritons Grappling Team.

This was one of those cases.

The six-time Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Combatives and Grappling Heavyweight Champion quickly got approval from from his Chain of Command and became a late entry in the AVA Western Submission Grappling Championship.

Chalk it up as another chapter in PO2 Thibault’s silver linings playbook.

PO2 Thibault would soon be engaged in one of the best, most meaningful fights of his life. At the AVA Championship, he would face a formidable opponent in Jackson Mann of Vancouver’s Lions MMA. Five years his senior, Mann is a purple Jiu-Jitsu belt who possesses an astonishing ground game as a grappler, says PO2 Thibault.

After two closely contested matches, each fighter claimed a victory apiece, forcing a tiebreaker. In the end, Mann prevailed in the rubber match, won gold with PO2 Thibault settling for the tournament’s silver medal. The rivalry and camaraderie between the two men did not end there.

“After the match, we were in awe of each other and our different abilities and were very congratulatory,” said PO2 Thibault. “We shook hands and I told him he has an unbeatable ground game and he told me that I was a great wrestler.”

Mann then told PO2 Thibault the result would have been different and his wrestling moves would have resulted in victory if the time clock in the tiebreaker hadn’t wound down so quickly.

The two fighters agreed to continue their rivalry the next day at Mann’s home club. What was supposed to be a rematch of the previous day’s fight instead morphed into a grappling clinic. PO2 Thibault demonstrated and sparred against Mann along with other members of the club for over two hours.

With both fighters completely exhausted after two days of grappling, they shook hands and agreed to meet again for a rematch someday.

“He said statistically, he may have gotten the tournament but he said he has never felt wrestling moves like mine before,” recalled PO2 Thibault. “We learned so much from each other and have become friends from this experience.”

Last summer, PO2 Thibault was the five-times Heavyweight Champion; he lost a hard-fought decision in ADCC World Championship and got eliminated in first round; but that, he says, made him better – he went to CFB Edmonton and became the six-time heavyweight champion.”

“I told the team as long as you try your best and learn from your mistakes, that is the key to success,” PO2 Thibault says.

The Tritons grappling team has approximately 30 members. Members hold practice every Tuesday and Friday at 4 p.m. at the Naden Athletic Centre. The club is always looking for new members.

Inset: Petty Officer 2nd Class Lee Thibault. Photos: Lee Thibault