5 Things You Didn't Know About Levi Jones-Leary

There's a lot more to this Australian grappler than killer berimbolos. Here are five things you never knew about Levi Jones-Leary.

Jun 10, 2020 by Chase Smith

5 Things You Didn't Know About Levi Jones-Leary

At the conclusion of 2019, Levi Jones-Leary went from breakout star to top contender, capturing gold medals at the European Championships, Pan Championships, and Spyder BJJ: King of Kings tournament.

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At the conclusion of 2019, Levi Jones-Leary went from breakout star to top contender, capturing gold medals at the European Championships, Pan Championships, and Spyder BJJ: King of Kings tournament.

The Australian grappler is known for his unique approach to the gentle art and top-class technical skills, but there's a lot more to the story than his successes on the tatami.

Read on to find out five things you should know about Levi Jones-Leary.

Coming Jun 17: The New Guard: Levi Jones-Leary

THE NEW GUARD: Levi Jones-Leary (Trailer)

1. Levi Found Jiu-Jitsu Through A Social Program

A Sydney native, Levi was raised in the famous neighborhood of Bondi. As a teenager, he struggled in the classroom, lacking interest, and only attending for the social aspect of the school. He made a decision early on that it wasn’t for him, and through a social project, he would first come into contact with jiu-jitsu.

“I got introduced to jiu-jitsu through a social project called Links to Learning. It basically takes kids who aren’t doing good in school and takes them to do different activities every day. One day they took us to an MMA class. From there I eventually started jiu-jitsu; I was 15. After that, I just stopped going to school and went to go train instead.”

2. His First USA-Based Camp Was At Cobrinha's.... And He Lived In An Ashram

"The first time I went to Worlds in 2014, we were staying near Cobrinha’s during the week of Worlds, and the training was just sick. The whole Alliance team was there and I was blown away.

"I remember being inspired by everyone in the room, So I decided I was going to back for three months later that year in 2014. I would go to Cobrinha’s about three months a year ahead of Worlds and Pans.

"My dad knew a guy who owned an ashram (a monastery/place of worship) near Cobrinha's and I was able to stay there for free while I trained."

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3. He Almost Didn’t Compete At 2020 Europeans

"The day before the tournament I was overweight, and I didn’t think I could make it.

"So I was very sad and bought a bunch of croissants and drank like three glasses of wine. I woke up the next day and told my mom I didn’t care… but my mom told me to 'Get the f*** up,' and I said, 'Yeah all right', and went into autopilot."

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"I worked out like crazy for an hour and I was 0.1 over on the test scale and just said, 'Fuck it,' weighed in, and made weight on the official scale."

Levi would go on to win the tournament, beating all-time great lightweight Lucas Lepri in the final, establishing Levi as one of the hottest up-and-coming black belts of the year.

4. He is a Big Believer In Visualization and Guided Mediation

Sports psychology is known to be an extremely valuable tool for athletes, but Levi has been practicing meditation since he was a kid.

"When I started doing jiu-jitsu that was the first time I was really feeling I had control over my emotional state and overall mindset. That's when I really started focussing, I knew it would really help me a lot in competition, so I invested a lot of time into from early on, since white belt."

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5. He Believes That Training Should Be Just as Mentally Grueling As It Is Physical

Levi spends as much time as he can at Unity Jiu-Jitsu in New York City, an academy run by Murilo Santana, and the Australian says that sometimes the training there goes well beyond the realm of physical preparation – and that such a practice pays dividends when it's time to perform in competition.