Steve Murray of Hawick lands double martial arts medal haul

Hawick’s Steve Murray, head coach at the town’s Evolution MMA, was a double medallist at the latest Manchester Brazilian jiu-jitsu open, run by BJJ 24.7 Events.
Steve Murray from Evolution, Hawick (picture by Bill McBurnie)Steve Murray from Evolution, Hawick (picture by Bill McBurnie)
Steve Murray from Evolution, Hawick (picture by Bill McBurnie)

Murray landed a middlewight no-gi gold and a gi bronze, with Jordan Palfrey, 23, of Galashiels, securing further success for the Teviot Crescent club, the only one of its kind in the Borders, by getting a silver in the lightweight no-gi category after winning three matches.

“It was a really successful weekend for us,” said Murray, 40. “We were quite pleased because we were competing against people from all over the country. It was a big event.

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“I have just been promoted to purple belt by my Glasgow-based head coach Giles Garcia, a black belt. There are five belts in jiu-jitsu – white, blue, purple, brown and black.

“This was my first time competing in purple so I wasn’t really expecting much, but luckily I managed to podium twice in the older masters category so I was quite pleased with myself.

“I had six matches and won three of them, two to get the gold and one to get the bronze.

"Jordan is a really good student and he did well too.”

Murray’s son Theo, 11, is also taking up jiu-jitsu and his brother Bailey, seven, is starting to get into it and getting involved in training too, so Murray is hoping for further success for his family in years to come.

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Garcia has coached Murray for around three years, with the Borderer, a former mixed martial arts fighter, having done jiu-jitsu for the last six years and having opened his Hawick gym last October.

When asked what his jiu-jitsu strengths are, Murray replied: “I’m particularly good at teaching. I can actually relay the techniques well.

“It’s about consistency. Studying is very important, being able to immerse yourself in the art, watching a lot of techniques, watching a lot of matches and just really study, study, study. If you turn up consistently, you get good.

“I’ve not been going that long at my gym but I have around 30 members and it’s got quite popular. People are really getting into it.”

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The next event for white-belt Evolution students to compete at will come in Motherwell this Saturday, March 5, with Palfrey, Nathan Riddell, Derry Alexander, Daniel Moriarty and Szymon Kosecki all taking part.

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