Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.
After six years of learning how to lock horns in the sport of judo, 13-year-old Lochlan Young finally got the better of his 15-year-old brother Maxwell in a meaningful match in the front of the judges.
It happened late in the day Saturday at the Prince George Open tournament at the Northern Sport Centre and with one little misstep from his brother, Lochlan seized his opportunity to trip him to the ground for the victory.
"That was pretty good, usually he catches me with the foot," said Lochlan. "He came in for his uchi mata and I locked his leg and managed to push him back so he lost his balance and (I) maintained control through the throw."
Lochlan, who turns 14 in December, went on to win silver in the under-16 division, while Maxwell had to settle for bronze, left with the sting that comes with losing in anything to a younger sibling.
"He's gripping different and normally he doesn't throw and that's helping him," said Maxwell. "When I was throwing him, he just countered me and I fell on my side and he got the point."
The one-day Prince George Open drew close to 150 competitors. Thirteen-year-old Koen Heitman of the Hart Judo Academy won gold in the U-16 category, which grouped all weight classes together. It was Heitman's first competition since he broke his thumb in his first match at the B.C. Winter Games in Abbotsford in February.
The youngest of the three Young brothers, 11-year-old Asher, also had a productive day on the mats Saturday, winning all of his matches. All three boys are into cross-fit, and their high-intensity workouts in the gym give them a steady supply of stamina for their judo pursuits.
During the tournament, their mom Shelley stood on the sidelines and recorded all her kids' fights with her iPad. Lochlan likes having judo as a common thread which binds his family.
"It's cool because then it extends outside the club and at home you can talk about it and it's a general interest," Lochlan said.
Lochlan was the first of the three boys to show an interest in judo. Their father, Shawn, started judo when he was eight and living in Cold Lake, Alta., but had to give it up after two years when his family moved. Shawn had been out of the sport until he saw his boys in action at the Hart Judo Academy and he joined the club five years ago. Shawn was unable to compete Saturday due to a knee injury and served as a judge.
"Lochlan wanted to do a martial art and Shelley and I didn't want them to take a look at sports that had striking in them," said Shawn, 44. "I had done judo as a young person and we thought judo would be a good combination of hard work and self-defence. It's been an excellent sport for them to have some fun and get in shape.
"I came back to it at 40. That's the neat thing about judo, it's a lifelong sport. Some people are here for competitiveness, some do it to just stay in shape, and some do it just for recreation and to have fun."
At 13, Lochlan is now old enough to fight in the Canadian Open judo national championships, set for Calgary, May 11-18. Maxwell went last year to Montreal, where he lost both his matches. He now ranks No. 2 in B.C. for his age and weight class.
"It's going to be a big division with lots of guys from Ontario and Quebec and they're pretty good - most of the guys fight outside of the country," said Maxwell. "I lost both fights last year but it wasn't too bad.
"I don't know how much I've improved but next year is kind of when it's important. There's Canada Games (in 2019) and Elite 8 (national championships), you just have to be Number 1 in B.C. to go and I'm Number 2 right now."
Lochlan can't wait for his first national test.
"It'll be cool to go to Calgary, it'll be a good experience," he said. "My goal is to win a fight."
