NORTHAMPTON — When Parker Dion, 5, arrived for his first Brazilian jiujitsu tournament, there was a problem — his coach wasn’t there.
A communication mixup had Dion and his mother, Sharon, at Sunday’s Dragon Lair Challenge in Framingham.
His coach, Tom Gomes of Team Link Northampton, had scheduled for the team to be at this weekend’s AMMO tournament in South Windsor, Connecticut.
But Parker Dion decided to compete at the Dragon Lair Challenge anyway, and won a gold medal in the No-Gi Division. The Hadley resident also got second place in the Gi Division.
In the Gi Division, competitors wear a traditional jiujitsu uniform and are allowed to grab and pull on the fabric to try and put their opponent into submissions. In No-Gi, competitors are in shorts and T-shirts and are not allowed to grab their opponent’s clothing.
Without his coach, Parker was supported by his parents and other members of Team Link who happened to be at the event.
“(Parker) got pretty riled up,” Sharon Dion said. “(In one match) the other kid started using some moves that are illegal for their age, kind of choking him. And he started crying and the referee asked him if he wanted to keep going and he said ‘yes’. I didn’t even videotape the end because I was so nervous. He was very excited when he won.”
Parker began jiujitsu at age 3, first becoming interested when he saw the Team Link building next to Northampton School of Dance, which his sister attends.
Sharon Dion researched martial arts and decided that jiujitsu was better for someone of Parker’s age.
“It’s more about submission and not so much about striking. It’s more self defense,” Sharon Dion said. “It’s a very competitive sport but everyone is very supportive of each other.”
Gomes usually starts kids at age 4, but after talking with Sharon, decided that Parker could join. Gomes currently has another student who is 3.
Gomes opened Team Link five years ago and added kids to his classes after one year. He said Parker is the first student from his child classes to compete at an event.
“For me the best part is seeing the difference from when Parker started with us,” Gomes said. “He has the focus and confidence to get in front of a room of strangers and compete another stranger and maybe lose. He knows it’s not about winning, it’s the experience of it. That’s cool to see in a 5-year-old.”
The AMMO event on Sunday will be Parker’s second tournament, but it will be the first for the rest of Team Link.