RJ Kendall may be only 10 ½ years old but the youngster from Topsfield has already made a name for himself as a wrestler and jujitsu athlete.
Even though he has been wrestling for only one and a half years after beginning in jujitsu at age 7, he won a silver medal and two bronze medals at the Summer Nationals wrestling event held by Nuway Combat earlier this year in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Nuway Combat organizes national wrestling and jujitsu competitions, and the event gave Kendall a chance to wrestle kids from all across the country.
“He started wrestling to get more partners for jujitsu and he found out he liked wrestling just as much as jujitsu,” said Rick Kendall, his father and coach.
RJ Kendall became Topsfield’s first state champion in wrestling last February and reached the semifinals in New England in his age and weight class.
Kendall said he likes the fact more people know what wrestling is compared to jujitsu.
“And you can win more titles in wrestling like state titles, national titles and so on,” he said.
The competition in Atlantic City created a lasting memory for him.
“It was exciting,” Kendall said. “I felt like a professional.”
He works out for both sports in a facility in Baileyville and he also has a gym at their house in Topsfield.
He is a member of Grapple for Growth, a non-profit organization that helps youngsters develop in both sports.
He has over 200 wins between the two sports and said each sport has aspects that help him in the other.
“The intensity in wrestling helps him in jujitsu,” said his father. “You have to go a lot harder and a lot faster in wrestling.”
Rick Kendall said one of his son’s best attributes is his knowledge.
“He will watch an hour of an instructional video in addition to working out every day,” said Rick Kendall. “He has over 700 hours of instructional videos on an app that he has watched.”
RJ loves competing and said it takes a lot of dedication and commitment.
“I’ve coached a lot of kids and adults and he is, by far, one of the most knowledgeable even at age 10 just from his hard work,” said Rick Kendall. “He can watch an instructional video and he can start putting the moves into live action matches immediately.”
RJ says he wants to be more knowledgeable and feels like that is the best way to keep learning.
“I have adults who will go ask him questions rather than go ask other adults because they know he will have a better answer,” his father added.
The 10-year-old is also an instructor for youngsters 6-and-under in Baileyville. His dad said it was his son’s idea to form a 6-and-under age group.
“He has definitely put the work in,” said Rick Kendall.
RJ Kendall will continue to compete in both sports and his dad feels he can eventually wrestle at the Division I level and coach the two sports at “the highest level.”
He will compete in a jujitsu tournament in Florida in November and in winter nationals in wrestling in Indiana in January.
