How Anand Sharma is creating a Jiu-Jitsu and MMA movement in rural India

The concepts of Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts are still new to a good portion of India. Especially in the rural parts of the nation, the seeds of these disciplines are yet to grow roots in a major way.  

Indian Combat Athlete Anand Sharma hopes to change this. A former ADCC and National Grappling Champion, Anand has started OM BJJ and MMA Academy in his village in Haryana with the hope of making training accessible to the kids in the rural area.

Having trained under some well-known coaches including Tomas Bilishich of RIBEIRO Jiu-Jitsu Slovakia, Siddharth Singh of Crosstrain Fight Club and Coach Ivan, Anand had the plan of OM BJJ and MMA for quite some time.

“When I came back to India, this was my vision. It was in my mind for a long time. but I got the time to start it now so I wanted to spread Jiu-Jitsu specially in the rural part of India because nobody focuses on the rural kids and they don’t get the exposure and privilege such as city kids. That’s why I started OM BJJ and MMA Academy,” Anand noted.

He wanted to give a platform for the kids to transform themselves and gave a name rooted to the Indian culture so that the kids would feel connected to it.

“I started this initiative not for money or fame. I just want to give them a platform so that they can train, maybe some of them will become athletes. Otherwise, will become strong and better human beings for tomorrow,” he adds.

In the long run, Anand hopes that the movement will spread across villages in India. He has already captured the attention of kids from his neighbour villages and he is sure that if such a movement is launched across the nation, the face of India in the sporting and Jiu-Jitsu world is bound to change.

“The idea is to spread it in such a way that even a poor kid will be able to train without thinking about the money or expenses,” he notes.

According to the World Bank’s report back in 2018, India has a rural population of 65.97% and it is high time that movements like that of Anand’s are kick-started all over the nation.  

“Even if you cannot help the kids on my side in Haryana or somewhere, you can still help the kids in your village or your town or your province. Slowly, if we start a movement like that, we can create a huge wave or movement so that in next coming one or two years, we can create a big group of kids which will become future athletes and make India proud. So I hope we can do that and I hope that I will be able to motivate some of you with this. So let’s do it guys, Namaste,” he concluded. 

You can follow Anand and his academy across various social media channels and show your support. Details are given below:

• YouTube channel- Anand Sharma mma
• Facebook- Anand Sharma, ombjj & mma academy
• Instagram- @anandlovesjiujitsu, @omjiujitsu

Also Read: Angad Bisht: Forging a Legacy in the mountains of Uttarakhand

LEAVE A COMMENT

Please login to leave a comment

1 Comments

Coach Zishaan

this guy is surely a hero?????????????