Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, December 12, 2024: Jiu-jitsu in Iran is on the rise as it has just come out of the shadow of other martial arts sports, including judo, according to Seyed Amir Khoshbin, Vice President of the Iran Jiu Jitsu Association.
“For years we were under the same umbrella as judo and other martial arts. We belonged to the same federation. But this year, jiu-jitsu formed its own association and this independence will allow us to grow rapidly,” noted Khoshbin on Thursday.
Khoshbin, who is the head coach of the Iranian national jiu-jitsu team as well as an International A-Grade referee, is part of a four-member team at the OCA-JJAU jiu-jitsu development programme for coaches and referees in Abu Dhabi.
“Forming our own association will speed up the development progress of jiu-jitsu in Iran. We have our own statutes and constitution, and are receiving the full support of the Iran National Olympic Committee as well as the Ministry of Sports.
“We are ranked in the top-10 countries in Asia in jiu-jitsu, but now that we are getting the full support of the government as well as the NOC, I’m confident we can soon challenge for the leading positions in Asia,” said Khoshbin, a third degree black belt holder.
The sport has a wide following in Tehran and other cities. According to Khoshbin, there are more than 20,000 practitioners from schools, universities, clubs and Armed Forces.
“We were ranked first in West Asia at the regional championships in 2015. We hope we can challenge all of Asia and our target is to win medals at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Now that we have our own association, we will be able to develop quickly,” he added.
