If Kane Chartrand had his way, every single newcomer to the high-school wrestling scene in Sudbury would be equipped with at least some background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
A combat sport based largely on grappling and ground fighting, BJJ (as it is so often abbreviated to) offers one of the most transferrable bases of skill-sets from the world of martial arts to the closest similar athletic endeavour that exists in the realm of secondary school sports.
It was also the starting point for three year old Kane Chartrand.
Hard to argue with the results for the grade 10 student at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School who is preparing to celebrate his 16th birthday this coming weekend.
“In your first year (of H-S wrestling), if you have no combat experience, you are probably not going to do as well as if you have 11 years of BJJ behind you,” said Chartrand. “It helps with body positioning so much. It’s one of the main reasons why I was winning.”
Spoken like a young man who claimed silver last week in the 57.5kg weight class at the 2025 OFSAA Wrestling Championships, becoming the only SDSSAA wrestler to earn a top six placement this year and the first since 2017 to medal at the all-Ontario competition.
This coming off a gold medal performance in taking top spot (56kg) at the Ontario Cadet Provincial Championships held in early February in Markham.
The son of a former H-S and club wrestler (Scott Chartrand) and younger brother to a highly sports-minded older sister (Jaida), Chartrand immersed himself both in the school wrestling and club wrestling (Sudbury Golden Eagles) programs right from the time of his entry into grade nine – only because he couldn’t do so earlier.
“We tried to get me out with Bishop Carter wrestling in grade eight,” he explained. Apparently insurance issues and such create some hurdles that cannot be overcome – at least not in the school setting.
“My dad taught me here (at home) a little because we have mats down in the basement that we train with,” said Chartrand. And for as much as he was more prepared than most, given the exposure he enjoyed to BJJ, there was a learning curve to be ascended – though he would climb it far more quickly than most.
“You start with the basics; you don’t start with a whole bunch of fancy moves that you don’t understand yet,” noted the well-spoken teen who was named SDSSAA Male Rookie Wrestler of the Year in 2023-2024.
Chartrand cannot resist but the chuckle a little at some of what he sees when complete neophytes are welcomed to the mat, armed with visions of wrestling that seldom bear any resemblance to the reality of his world of grappling.
“They will probably try a whole bunch of wacky things that probably won’t work,” he said.
“They will flip on their back in random positions. When you’re new, you don’t understand that you can’t turn full-over on your back and try and roll through because you lose points.”
“But it’s cool to watch kids learn this and improve over the years. They are so much better than when they started.”
Winning his first two bouts at the 2024 OFSAA Championships before dropping two straight while wrestling in the 51kg bracket last March, Chartrand returned more focused than ever.
“Stop making those rookie mistakes that I made the first time,” he exclaimed when asked about the year over year difference. “I’m learning how to breathe and not gas out – I still don’t know how to do that. And defense was a hard thing I could not comprehend.”
“Everyone could get into my legs because I wouldn’t sprawl. My dad drove that one into me.”
What emerged was a northern threat ready to take a shot at some hardware, ranked fourth overall in the 57.5kg category that featured 32 of the top young wrestlers from across the province of that size and stature.
“I felt way, way, way more confident this year just because of how much I’ve trained,” said Chartrand. “You’ve got to go into the competitions thinking: I’ve trained for this, I’m ready for this, nobody is going to beat me … but it sometimes happens.”
As he looks towards Cadet Nationals in May in Alberta, Chartrand knows that he must press on should he wish to make his long-term goals a reality.
“I don’t have a lot of match experience yet,” he said. “I’ve got to get better at learning when to be defensive in a match and how to do it properly.”
The early teachings of Brazilian jiu-jitsu can only take you so far, it appears.
