Lilly Pidsley
November 2023
Lilly Pidsley lives Bulford with her Mum, Dad and little sister, Daisy (9). Since Lilly has been born, she has lived in five homes and been to three different schools while her Dad has been deployed overseas four times, as well as regularly spending time away from home on military exercises and operations. Lilly’s Dad did judo as a child and which inspired Lilly to start the sport when she was young but she stopped training during the pandemic. After lockdown she discovered jiujitsu and has loved it ever since.
Her Dad has spent the last three months serving overseas in Germany and while he was away, Lilly was invited to compete in the Swiss Brazilian Jiujitsu National Championships. Despite being very nervous to compete without her Dad by her side, Lilly stepped up to the mat and won six of her seven flights, collecting three gold medals. She was cheered on by her sister, Daisy, her Mum, Marie and her granny Karen.
Marie explains: “Life isn’t easy for Lilly and her sister Daisy growing up in the Armed Forces. She has made lots of friends since she started jiujitsu and the sport has really helped Lilly with her autism”.
Lilly adds: “I am very happy to have received this award from Little Troopers. I love jiujitsu and would recommend it to anyone. I hope to one day be on Enyo a women’s only jiujitsu competition and want to be a jiujitsu coach when I’m older.”
Lilly will now receive a special medal from Little Troopers to add to her collection, along with a £50 gift voucher and certificate.
Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, adds: “We loved hearing about Lilly’s jujitsu success. That despite having to move home and school over the years, she’s stayed committed to her sport and found the strength and resilience to compete in the national championships while her Dad was serving away. We really think Lilly deserves to know that she is an amazing little trooper and we hope she wears her Little Troopers medal with pride.”
