Kia ora e te whānau. Ko Jeter Reid tōku ingoa, I’m 12 years old and live in Whitianga. I do martial arts/
My favourites are Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing. I started doing kickboxing in 2017 with Vaughn Condon when I was 7 years old
over at Cooks Beach in the hall. And I started Jiu-Jitsu in 2020 when the new Evolution Fitness gym opened up with TOA Martial Arts. I enjoy these arts because of the tikanga, discipline, whanaungatanga, confidence and focus I get from them. I also like that it’s all on me when I compete, just me versus a stranger. Having strong support from my parents, whānau, coaches, and my toa martial arts teammates makes a massive difference, even though it’s an individual sport.
The last two years I have competed in eight Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in Auckland, including NZ Opens and Nationals in both Gi and
No Gi against the best in the country and have done well, coming away with five gold medals, one silver and four bronze. My first gold medal in only my second tournament ever, I was losing on points in the gold medal match and won with eight seconds left, winning by kimura. It’s my favourite submission – I have won a few matches using it; a friend called it the Jetemura one day after me, and it has stuck.
Words by
Jeter Reid
