The new kid on the block

Sport’s expanding portfolio in Jordan recently increased to 36 Federations with the recognition of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and with it a whole new band of local heroes will be unleashed on the sporting scene.

Zaid Mirza has been the fulcrum for launching the sport into a new market and it is now one of the fastest growing martial arts in the Kingdom with over 1,000 active participants – quite an achievement for a ‘new’ sport.

“Jiu Jitsu is the mother game for all combat sports and it means in Japanese ‘Prestigious Art’,” said Mirza, who fell in love with the sport whilst he was living in Brazil. “It may be new to Jordan but it is one of the oldest sports in the world. It basically works by taking advantage of an opponent’s weaknesses, high focusing and avoiding the strength of the opponents. The game doesn't count on physical strength only, but also on intelligence, since it is possible for a light, fast athlete to win over an over-weight but slow one.”

Mirza’s father was ambassador to Brazil from 1993. Prior to moving to South America, he was already competing in karate, taekwondo and judo so it did not take him long to become a strong player in his new found sport.

He started his training at the Top Team Club in Brasilia under the supervision of the World Champion Casio Fernick. The bug took a hold and soon he was training for four hours a day and participating in National Championships, resulting in gold at the Middle Brazil Championship in 1995.

Mirza’s studies in Business Administration took him to the USA in 2000 but he continued his training. The talented footballer played for his University and could still today stake a claim in many of the top Jordan Premier League Clubs, but he has remained committed to Jiu Jitsu.


After graduating, Mirza returned to Amman in 2000 having first obtained coaching and refereeing qualifications back in Brazil.

“In 2003 I formed a team here including HRH Prince Hamzeh Al Hussein, and HRH Prince Hashem Bin Al Hussein, but it was not until 2005 that we started our first local championship,” he said. “Our second event followed in 2006 and attracted international participants from 26 countries. Our team managed to win gold. We have also been successful in other regional events since and continue to improve.”

The game is going through a boom period with training camps organised on a regular basis. Now as a recognised Federation, they have managed to welcome some of the sport’s biggest names to help to build its popularity in Jordan.

But there has been a lot of support along the way and Mirza is quick to pay his respects.

He said: “I can’t thank HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein (JOC President) and the Jordan Olympic Committee enough for their support in helping to establish our Federation and also our sponsors – The King Abdullah II Fund and KADB Company.”