This weekend 12-year-old Tristan Logue heads over to the UK to compete in a NAGA tournament. A possible star of tomorrow, Tristan has had tremendous success in grappling competitions over the past couple of years.
He has won Gold in Irish, UK and European BJJ Championships, Gold in Irish Judo Championships, Silver in Irish Freestyle Wrestling Open and Gold in the Ulster Novice MMA championship. And that is the the tip of the iceberg with his medal count across various competitions in different disciplines.
His journey in martial arts began through his early love for pro wrestling and when his father, Allen Logue, took up training at Team Evlove/Ryano Derry he followed soon after.
"Tristan was mad about pro wrestling and loved learning and copying the moves," said Allen Logue. "I myself started training with Evolve in 2012, primarily just to lose weight and get fitter, and so took up doing MMA, jiu jitsu, kung fu and BJJ. A year later three of my kids followed suit and took up doing martial arts.
"Tristan was a natural when it came to learning how to grapple. So that is basically the story of how Tristan got started in martial arts."
As he grows and becomes more experienced in grappling, Tristan's goal is to transition into Mixed Martial Arts and has his sights set on the UFC.
"Tristan wants to transition into MMA and go on to compete in the UFC when he is older," explained Allen. "He plans to earn his black belt in all his martial arts and hopes to compete and win at the highest level possible. Tristan wants to create a legacy of achievements and be someone that others can look up to."
As it stands, Tristan is an Orange belt in BJJ, a Green Belt in Traditional Jiu Jitsu, an Orange Belt in Kung Fu, and a Yellow Belt in Judo. Speaking to his coach, Jason McCabe, he backed up what Allen said about Tristan's goals by stating that he has a work ethic that matches his talent and potential.
"Tristan work ethic is immense," stated Jason McCabe. "He is always there with a smile trying to learn. He's also happy to help the junior members around him. He's as talented as anyone I've trained, picks stuff up quickly and is eager to learn the details.
"Already he has shown his potential at grappling in BJJ, judo and wrestling. MMA he has just dabbled at as he is still quite young but he has a strong enough striking game too as his original style he started at with the club is strongly striking based. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him."
