Family support has young jiu-jitsu brothers chasing their dreams

Two young Halifax brothers are returning to Nova Scotia with their parents after winning gold medals at a jiu-jitsu championship in Ontario on Saturday.

Noah King, 7, and his brother Christian King, 8, took part in the Ontario Open International Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Oshawa.

They can now add the gold medals they won in their respective competitions to more than 60 medals they have already amassed between them.

The boys live with their mother, April King. who shares parenting duties with their father, Nick Doherty.

King said helping the boys achieve their dreams in the sport they love is a family affair.

Both parents get the boys to training every day, and work on fundraising to ensure they are able to get to competitions.

King said even on days when she wants to take a break from the routine the boys don’t allow it.

She said the hours before the boys competed on Saturday were harrowing.

“I was super stressed all morning …. nauseated, panicky … but they were fine,” she said. “When they won, everybody just went crazy.”

Doherty, who has a background in martial arts, coaches the boys. He said he just wants to ensure they enjoy the journey in the sport.

He said he’s proud of the boys regardless of their results.

“They’re the ones on the mat, they’re the ones sweating, bleeding, crying,” he said. “Any success is theirs and theirs alone.”

The family raised money to get to the championship by organizing bottle drives. King said the fundraising will continue the minute they get back home.

She said there is a local competition in June and another in Ontario in September.