[Written by Stephen Wright]
When Sydney Mason retired from gymnastics at 18, she didn’t expect it would take five years to discover a sport that excited and challenged her as much as her first athletic love.
Once the island’s top gymnast, Mason represented Bermuda at the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015, competing on vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.
With gymnastics being the pursuit of youth, Mason hung up her leotard after graduating from Bermuda High School in 2016 and thought her competitive days were over until she entered the doors of OpenMat Bermuda on Mills Creek Road two years ago.
“Gymnastics is not a sport that you continue into your 30s,” Mason told Bernnews. “Most gymnasts say goodbye to the sport when they are very young.
“It’s not like I gave it up too soon. It’s a sport that has meant a lot to me for a long time. It just took a long time to find something else that interested me.
The 25-year-old had no martial arts experience before her first session at OpenMat – the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy on the island – but said she immediately felt at home in such a friendly environment.
“I was apprehensive about starting it, but I felt really comfortable on OpenMat,” said Mason, who will continue her academic studies at the University of Law in London, where she will start this month. “Everyone was so encouraging and willing to teach.
“Probably any of my natural athleticism would have expired in the five years I spent without gymnastics!” I was happy to find a sport that challenged me just as much.
On the surface, there are few similarities between gymnastics and close combat sports such as jiu-jitsu; However, Mason believes her years of jumping, tumbling and somersaulting have provided her with a solid athletic foundation.
“I already had a good understanding of biomechanics, body movements and natural strength, which really helped me,” the former University of Southampton student said.
“Jui-jitsu is like a game of chess – you are trying to outsmart your opponent. In gymnastics, there are routines; if you repeat your training, the results will show on the mat.
“With jiu-jitsu, your training will reflect on the mat, but you have an opponent to calculate. You have to be a flexible thinker.”
“Like gymnastics, there is always a new skill to learn and your game has to change depending on your opponent,” added Mason, who competed in the Jui-jitsu No-Gi Championships in Toronto in Las Vegas last month.
“I enjoy diversity and want to be as well-rounded a competitor as possible.”
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