2 weeks Ago By Perry Bergson
When Mika Coles shows off her jiu jitsu in a match at Brandon Bouts 2: Submission Only Grappling card on Saturday, she’ll have an unusual number of people in her corner. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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When Mika Coles shows off her jiu jitsu in a match at Brandon Bouts 2: Submission Only Grappling card on Saturday, she’ll have an unusual number of people in her corner. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? When Mika Coles shows off her jiu jitsu in a match at Brandon Bouts 2: Submission Only Grappling card on Saturday, she’ll have an unusual number of people in her corner. Coles, 23, has 10 brothers and sisters, all of whom have wrestled and were active in jiu jitsu.
She grew up in Alberta and Winnipeg, and later headed to Pennsylvania to learn at the M2 Training Center, which is owned by Oklahoma State’s wrestling coach David Taylor. “I have seven brothers so I grew up fighting,” Coles said with a chuckle. “My self defence definitely gets used a lot.
” She joked the rolling can actually take place in the kitchen as they try out moves on each other. The family eventually relocated to London. Ont.
, but Coles moved to Brandon a year ago to join her partner, and quickly became the wrestling coach at WAMMA Brandon. At the same time, she is a blue belt in jiu jitsu. Eight of her siblings are still involved in jiu jitsu and nine in wrestling.
The family ran the Pan-American Institute of Combat Sport, also known as Combat School, out of their home in St. Boniface prior to the move. For a family of 13, wrestling simply made sense.
“I think a big reason we started wrestling was because there were so many children,” said Coles, who is moving to The Pas soon and hopes to start a wrestling program there. “We needed something that all ages could go in. Grappling was a good sport because from six to 19, you can all be in the same practice.
” One of the people she’s helped at the WAMMA Brandon gym in her role as head wrestling coach is Jillian MacDonald. The Minnedosa product said Coles was the perfect person to help her grow in jiu jitsu. “When she joined, I didn’t have a lot of wrestling experience,” MacDonald said.
“The guys wrestle a lot different than the girls so right away, I gravitated towards her and we started working together and she started helping coach me even though she’s like 10 years younger than me. “She’s really amazing and her wrestling skills are phenomenal.” As a result, MacDonald suggests he’s improved ten-fold in that department over the last six months.
“She’s gentle and warm but she can really kick butt,” MacDonald said with a laugh. Mika, who is fourth in the birth order, began to coach her younger sisters in jiu jitsu while also handling the role as head coach of the wrestling program at Combat School. Her work certainly paid off.
Her younger sister Kaura won gold at the 2024 under-17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan last August. “My younger sisters wanted to wrestle and do jiu jitsu and there was no female coach around,” Coles said. “That was a big motivating factor for me.
I would learn and then I would coach not only my younger sisters but other females. I actually coached my younger sister and she was the first U17 Canadian girl to win worlds.” Mika wasn’t able to be there for the event, but said it’s gratifying to see how far her sister has come since she started in the sport as a youngster.
It’s also nice she did it in a sport other than wrestling. “I enjoyed jiu jitsu more than wrestling because wrestling involves a lot more strength as opposed to jiu jitsu, where you can get away with more technique,” Coles said. “I’m not the strongest person around so it was nice to be able to out-grapple bigger and stronger people using technique.
” She’ll be calling on that technique again on Saturday in her match. She doesn’t know anything about her opponent, Raina Rempel of Steinbach, saying all she has to do is “show up and see what happens.” “It’s pretty cool,” Coles said.
“I’ve competed a lot but never on a stage like that in a super fight. It will be interesting.” The event, which will be held at Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Saturday at 7 o’clock, features more than 20 bouts.
Tickets are $39 for adults $33 for students and seniors and $15 for children. The doors open at 6 p.m.
» For a story on Jillian MacDonald and a full list of the bouts on the card, see Saturday’s edition of The Brandon Sun. » [email protected] Advertisement Advertisement.
