More than 30 participants turned out for the Whitehorse Invitational Judo Tournament, held at Ecole Emilie Tremblay on Saturday.

Five Whitehorse area clubs were entered in the tourney Yamagoshi Grey Mountain Judo Club, Golden Horn Judo Club, Hiroshi Kai Judo Club, Kiichi Sai Judo Club and Newaza Defence Judo Club.

Kiicki Sai president Buck Smarch, who came in first in the open men's competition, said the tournament went well.

'You get to a point in your training where you know how well you'll fair,' Smarch said, adding he knew he would win.

He's only been training for a year and three months, but has a hard time finding competitors. Tournament organizer Robert Bellon offered to take him on this time. Smarch has been boxing since the age of 12, but said he was never really into martial arts until he met Kiichi Sai instructor (Sensai) Dan Gribben.

'He's the best instructor I've ever had,' said Smarch. 'When I met him, I couldn't lay a finger on him, so I decided this is the guy for me. I've come a long way in my division of fighting.

'In order for someone to become champion, he has to be able to train under someone who is a previous champion. He (Gribben) has competed with the best in the world at one point. That's what it takes to train another champion.'

Smarch currently has his yellow belt in judo, although he said the belt colour doesn't matter when it comes to competition.

'A belt is there to hold up you pants,' he said matter-of-factly. 'A guy can be one of the best fighters in the world and be a white belt.'

That logic could come in handy for Smarch when he heads off to the Tiger Balm International tournament in Vancouver Tuesday. The Tiger Balm will feature some of the best fighters in the world, in about ten different martial arts.

'I'll be an average fighter down there,' he said. 'There's thousands of guys competing. I'll probably enter in beginners.'

The entire Kiichi Sai club will be traveling to Vancouver, including 12 first nations youth and four adult competitors. Smarch said the majority of the youth are high risk, and the club does a lot of fundraising so the youth can take part in a positive experience. Most of them will be in the grappling portion of the tourney, or Brazilian jujitsu.

'I think because we have the best instructor in the Yukon, these kids are going to be the next set of champions,' smiled Smarch. 'We're setting up like an empire. If they stick with it until their my age, these kids are going to be better than I am.'

Smarch himself will be competing in sport jujitsu at the international tourney, although he also trains in muay tai kickboxing. He described sport jujitsu as a full-contact version of Brazilian.

'There are some rules,' he said. 'There's no eye-gauging and no biting, but you can punch, kick, submit and choke.'

Smarch admitted he is still at the bottom of the fighting world, and is nowhere close to where he wants to be. He hopes to turn pro someday.

'It combines strength and spirit,' he said, explaining why he loves judo. 'To make yourself a better person and offer something of value to the world that is the final goal of judo.

'I want to try and instill this in the youth and in the people.'

And if Smarch's professional dreams don't pan out, he has another option which he often dreams of to be a martial arts actor.

'Like Jackie Chan, but a first nations martial arts hero,' said Smarch, who currently works as a television host at NEDAA. 'There aren't any of those yet, and I want to be a role model for first nations youth.'

The next judo tournament being held in Whitehorse is the Yukon Open, which will take place in May. Here are the full results from the Whitehorse Invitational:

Junior Women

1Josee Carbonneau

2Montana Prysnuk

3Alex Jessup

Gillian Farnell

Novice Under-27 kg

1Johnathon Runion

2Tanisha Leas

3Eric Justafson

Kaitlyn Mitchell

Novice 27-30 kg

1Jaden Rook

2Graham Mainer-Pearson

3Alex Wyatt

Chelsea Mitchell

Novice 33 kg & Under

1Chris Little

2Ben Traynor

Novice 38-45 kg

1 Sameen Bhullar

2Ashley Leas

3Joel Wladyka

Kyra McDonald

Junior Girls

1Sheilah Sutherland

2Jeanine George

3Lara Bellon

Junior Boys 28-35 kg

1Nathan Dawson

2Brian Boone

Junior Boys 32-38 kg

1James Boyle

2Michael Hare

3Logan Frasher

4Finley Sparling

Junior Boys 37-44 kg

1McKeehan Prysnuk

2Kumie Shorty-Costeau

3Brandon Webb

Cameron LaPrairie

Junior Boys 40 kg & Under

1. Malcolm Boothroyd

2. Nick Smith

Junior Boys 40 kg & Over

1Darcy Carlick

2Duston Shorty

Men's

1Eduardo Aragon

2Ben Gribben

Men's Open

1Buck Smarch

2Robert Bellon

3 Frank Smith

Nase-no Kata Presentation

Penny Prysnuk & Anne Jessup