Local jiu-jitsu expert wins Texas championship

Joshua Ortego, 34, of Ville Platte, won the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) Texas Championship in the bantam weight expert division in Huntsville, Texas, on Saturday, June 28. Ortego has been practicing jiu jitsu grappling since 1995 and is the head coach at Alpha Team Jiu-Jitsu in Eunice. NAGA organizes some of the largest submission grappling jiu-jitsu martial arts tournaments in the country. The object is to take or throw down the opponent, assume a dominant position and subdue the opponent, usually with a choke hold or joint lock/manipulation. He is shown here subduing his opponent during the Huntsville championship. Ortego’s fellow Alpha Team members Jonathan “Jonboy” Belton and Raymond Bushnell of Basile won the silver and gold medals, respectively, in their divisions during the Texas championship.