Joey Payeur
Grace Petsnick’s propensity for throwing her competition for a loop is crossing all kinds of borders.
The Borderland Judo Club member added to her eye-popping list of achievements by capturing the gold medal in the U16 female-57kg division of the Sask Open judo meet in Regina over the weekend.
It was just another notch in the 14-year-old’s green belt after being tops at the Ontario Open two months ago and the U.S. nationals earlier last year.
“I know that different provinces bring different fighters, so I never really know what to expect walking into tournaments like those,” noted Petsnick, in just her fourth year of judo.
“I mean, you have to have confidence, know that you belong among those other fighters even if they are higher belt ranks than you, and that you’ve worked to get where you are,” she added.
“So you have to believe that you’re going to do well.
“So I guess I did feel confident but definitely not cocky,” she stressed.
Petsnick defeated Ariana Schaffel (Lethbridge, Alta.) in the first round, then stopped Kira Freeman (Watrous, Sask.) in the quarter-finals.
Sydney Edgson (Vancouver) was Petsnick’s next victim in the semi-finals before the local fighter put away Saskatoon’s Kelley Mills in the final.
“Each of my fights were similar,” said Petsnick. “They all were fairly shorter than me and a lot faster; each came at me differently.
“I would just read their bodies on how they came out or I would watch their other fights, with my sensei commenting on each of them making sure I understand how to read people and then adjust my fighting to accompany theirs,” she explained.
Petsnick then competed in the U18-57kg division against more veteran competition.
The situation was somewhat beyond her capabilities at this point of her career, as she lost her two matches against Tiffany Coolican (Vancouver) and Mattie Caldwell (Lethbridge).
“From those two fights, I learned that I have to work with what they give me because most of them were stronger, faster, and more experienced,” Petsnick noted.
“Otherwise, I was going to end up flat on my back,” she chuckled.
“I tried hard, tried to fight alongside all those higher experienced brown belts, and with sensei’s and my father’s support, I gave it my all.”
The astounding part was that Petsnick, a Grade 9 student at Fort High, was trying to excel on the mat while preparing for her first-semester final exams.
“I hate to admit it but my drive to do well in judo is more than 10 times my drive to study,” she grinned.
“Since I didn’t bring my books with me to the tournament, the whole day while jumping around and warming up, I had multiplying binomials buzzing around one side of my head and my competitors’ fighting style on the other,” she admitted.
“I got back to the hotel and crammed–panicking, obviously–but I tried to get it out of my head during fights.”
Petsnick next will compete in the Borderland Judo Club Shiai on Feb. 25 at the Couchiching multi-use facility, then travel to Edmonton for the Alberta Open in March and the national championships in Calgary after that.
“With Edmonton coming up, it’s good to have that confidence that I can stand my ground against different types of fighters,” she reasoned.
“And it gave me the boost I needed walking into a new year of busy tournament schedules.
“But with my U18 division, it also taught me that there’s always room for improvement,” Petsnick conceded.
“Go for platinum instead of gold, as some of my friends tell me, which is very true.
“There’s always going to be people who know how to fight better, who are stronger, and know their way around the mat better, and I just need to keep pushing harder and harder to meet my personal goals,” she remarked.
Petsnick acknowledged the guidance of Sensei Chuck MacDonald, who handles her instruction at the local club, and the rest of her support network.
“I wouldn’t be a fighter at all without the coaching and support from Chuck, plus the time and effort my parents put in to taking me to tournaments, and the whole club, who help with my training,” she lauded.
“Everyone has been supportive from the start and I’m glad to have all that help in my judo career.”
