Pike County native and judo prodigy Micah Brooks has his eyes set on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and continues to take leaps in that direction with his recent success.
Brooks, who began his judo training at age 4 at Epic Martial Arts in McComb under the tutelage of Epic owner and head instructor Chris Holmes, moved to Rhode Island 11 months ago to join Mayo Quanchi, one of the top judo schools in the nation.
On top of that, Brooks is living with his coach Serge Bouyssou and several other fighters from all over, including Brooks sharing a basement with four other guys.
Brooks said the move to Rhode Island has done wonders for his craft that he works tirelessly to perfect.
“I’ve been working on my throws because in my stand up, that’s where I’m weakest,” he said. “I still work on my ground work because that’s where I win at mostly. I go to the ground because everyone that I face nationally and internationally won’t go to the ground with me because they know that they’re going to get submitted.”
Holmes added that Brooks has improved dramatically in the grip fighting aspect of the sport, which he said decides most fights.
“That’s what was hurting Micah before,” Holmes said. “These kids were a lot better at grip fighting. We don’t do a lot of grip fighting here. We’re more of a ground fighting school. In the last eight months his grip fighting has gotten a lot better.”
To get to the highest levels of the sport, Brooks has had to put in a lot of work and dedication.
The teenager’s day includes a morning practice, an hour of lifting, two hours of night practice and a 30-minute session of physical training, which includes cardio workouts such as suicides. He also runs three miles per day.
All of the training has seemed to pay off thus far Micah Brooks.
After his first year of Olympic training, he is ranked No.2 in the IJF junior division, according to USA Judo. The division is for athletes ages 17-20 weighing 60kg or 132 pounds.
“The division is by far the most heavily contested division they have,” Jennifer Brooks said. “The competition is absolutely fierce. For him to be second in that division after his first year of Olympic training, is just phenomenal. We’re so proud.”
At the senior nationals tournament in April, Micah Brooks defeated the No. 1-ranked athlete in the division, David Agoglia.
“The past few tournaments he kicked my butt, but at senior nationals, we both lost in semifinals so we went down to fight for bronze,” Brooks recalled. “Part of me was a little nervous, but the other part of me was ‘I’m not losing to this kid again. I’m going to beat this kid.’ “
He recalled the fight and the moment when it all clicked for him and he figured out Agoglia’s fighting style. Brooks said he was able to get Agoglia down on the ground for a pin, which he had to hold for 20 seconds.
“It was literally the longest 20 seconds of my life holding him down,” he said as a smile crept across his face.
In the senior division, Brooks is ranked No. 5.
“In seniors, he’s beaten everyone but the No. 1 guy,” Holmes said.
What often separates the competitors in the rankings is the amount of tournaments they compete in, according to Holmes. However, in order to compete in the copious amounts of tournaments available, you must have a lot of funding.
Jennifer Brooks said they’ve spent $15,000 last year alone trying to fund her son as he competed in tournaments. In the last eight months he’s been several places, including Colorado Springs and England.
She said they have had to do numerous fundraisers and the Epic Martial Arts family has helped out tremendously. A raffle will be held in the near future.
“The Epic family has been epic,” Jennifer Brooks said. “My husband is working hard trying to keep him financed.”
Epic Martial Arts master Instructor and Chris Holmes’ wife Christine Holmes said Epic will be raffling off 12 free one-month classes at the gym as well as accepting donations for the raffle.
“I would love for him to be a hometown hero kind of thing,” Jennifer Brooks said. “I think kids need to see that things are possible. It don’t matter where you’re from. If you want it bad enough, you can achieve your dreams.”
