You might think that after being sidelined with a broken collarbone for nearly three months, 14-year-old Josh DeOlim would be reluctant to return to jiu-jitsu, especially when he had only been practicing the sport for a few months at the time of the injury.  But he hurt himself doing motocross - motorized dirt-biking - something he said was way more dangerous than mixed martial arts.

"I get hurt less in this," Josh said.  "In motocross, I crash and break something.  "Here, I just..." he shrugged.

For an athlete who seeks adrenaline-rushing sports like motocross, jiu-jitsu, and Muay-Thai kickboxing, which his coach Stephen Whittier of Nexus Martial Arts and Fitness gym called "the most formidable style of martial arts,"  Josh is pretty quiet.  He said that he always liked the idea of martial arts. But he is more animated when describing the grappling strategy, where the goal is to force your opponent to "tap out" by immobilizing them with various holds, than articulating its appeal.

"It keeps me active, in-shape," Josh said.  "I figured, 'why not?'"

He has been pretty successful.  In his first competition at the New England Grappling Championship, he won a gold medal in the Teen No-Gi Beginner Fly Weight, competing against mostly 14- and 15-year-olds who, like him, had practiced the sport for less than a year.  He won a silver in the same class for the Gi competition.  (A Gi is the traditional jiu-jitsu uniform; in a sport that depends on grips to overwhelm their opponent, it can make a difference if they are wearing a Gi or only shorts.)

"Josh has been progressing really well," said Whittier.  "He is a really solid all-around young man and does very well because he is always consistent with his practice."

His mother Tracy said she appreciates the dedication that the sport requires.

"He's an impulsive kid," she said. "He needs something organized in this way to keep him from being out and about and impulsive. This keeps him concentrated and focused.”

A freshman at Wareham High, Josh recently moved up from the young-adult class to train with adult students. Older, more physically developed and stronger, they tease Josh as if he were a little brother.  (Josh has two older sisters, he said they don't fight...)

His next grappling match will be in Springfield at the end of May, and it will require that Josh move up a weight class.  He said he would like to move up soon to more mixed martial arts, combining jiu-jitsu with kickboxing, the latter of which involves "strikes" such as hits, kicks, knees, etc.

But he seems pretty safe from injury for now - motorcross season has started, but he's trying to sell his bike, so he is competing less than usual.  And although the combination Muay-Thai kickboxing / jiu-jitsu sounds a little like 'anything goes' martial arts, it doesn't mean that he'll be appearing in any of the Ultimate Fighter-type cage matches soon.

"We just light-spar here," he said.