{"slug":"lucas-kanard","name":"Lucas Kanard","fullName":"Lucas Kanard","nickname":null,"url":"https://ossmeta.com/athletes/lucas-kanard","markdownUrl":"https://ossmeta.com/athletes/lucas-kanard.md","image":"https://ossmeta.com/athletes/lucas-kanard.jpg","imageAlt":"Lucas Kanard, Australian BJJ black belt and Sydney Wrestling Academy coach","belt":"black","team":"Sydney Wrestling Academy","nationality":"Australia","occupation":null,"birthDate":null,"deathDate":null,"birthPlace":null,"weightClass":"−88 kg / 194 lb (ADCC middleweight)","height":null,"tagline":"Australian SWA black belt, 2024 ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials champion, and CJI Submission of the Tournament winner famous for a dynamic open-guard and leglock game.","biography":["Lucas Kanard is an Australian no-gi competitor and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt based in Western Sydney. He is head no-gi coach at Sydney Wrestling Academy (SWA) in Auburn and built his reputation regionally before breaking onto the global stage in 2024. Earlier affiliations listed on federation records include ZR Team; some secondary profiles also reference a Gracie Barra connection. His name is consistently spelled Kanard on competition cards, Flo Grappling, BJJ Fanatics, and his Instagram (@lucas_kanard).","Long regarded in Australian circles as a high-level training partner and instructor—sometimes described as a “gym hero” rather than a household pro name—Kanard converted that reputation into major results in a short window. In May 2024 he won the ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials 2 in the under-88 kg division representing SWA, submitting his way through the bracket. His run included a kneebar over Kurtis Martin and an outside heel hook of William Dias in the final, earning a berth at the ADCC World Championships.","Rather than compete at ADCC 2024 Worlds, Kanard stepped down from the under-88 kg division to replace Mason Fowler in the over-80 kg field at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. There he produced one of the biggest upsets of the weekend: an inside heel hook of top seed Victor Hugo in about a minute. That finish won Submission of the Tournament and a $50,000 bonus on top of his appearance fee. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals, but the Hugo win—and the open-guard sequences around it—made him a breakout name across pro grappling media.","He continued on the major circuit through 2025–2026. At Craig Jones Invitational 2 he represented Team Australia/Asia at −88 kg, recording double-elimination draws with PJ Barch (vs Team 10th Planet) and Chris Wojcik (vs B-Team). On Polaris he became a regular Squads performer for Team Australasia and the Polaris All-Stars: at Polaris 33 he took decision wins over Jorge Gabriel, Gabriel Sousa, and Samuel Nagai; at Polaris 37 he opened Team Polaris vs Team BJJ Stars with a standout Z-lock against Julio Martins. At the 2026 ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials he was heavily favored at −88 kg and submitted his way deep into the bracket before Roberto Frias upset him en route to the title.","Kanard’s competitive style centers on modern open guard—K-guard and supine systems, dynamic retention, berimbolo/bolo entries—and a high finish rate with lower-body attacks (inside and outside heel hooks, Z-locks, kneebars) mixed with upper-body threats. He has packaged that game into instructionals, including Attacking Outside Finishing Inside on BJJ Fanatics, bolo-focused material, and ongoing breakdowns on his Patreon (Grappling Propaganda). Sydney Wrestling Academy promoted him to black belt on August 10, 2025 (he had competed as a brown belt through his ADCC Trials and CJI breakthrough; UAEJJF records list his brown belt from 2018 and earlier purple-belt competition at the Abu Dhabi World Pro)."],"chapters":[],"gallery":[],"achievements":["1st Place ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials (−88 kg, 2024)","Craig Jones Invitational Submission of the Tournament (2024) — inside heel hook of Victor Hugo","Craig Jones Invitational competitor (2024 individual; 2025 Team Australia/Asia −88 kg)","Polaris All-Stars / Squads competitor — Polaris 33 (multiple decision wins) and Polaris 37 (Z-lock vs Julio Martins)","ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials contender (−88 kg, 2026; deep run before finals-path loss to Roberto Frias)","Gold ADCC Sydney Open (2024, per secondary profiles)"],"coloredBeltAchievements":["1st Place ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials (−88 kg, 2024) as a brown belt","Competed as purple belt at UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship (2018)","Brown belt achieved 2018 (UAEJJF); black belt promotion August 10, 2025 (Sydney Wrestling Academy)"],"favoriteTechniques":["Open guard / supine guard","K-guard","Berimbolo / bolo entries","Inside heel hook","Outside heel hook","Z-lock","Kneebar","Leg entanglements (saddle / outside ashi)"],"instructors":[],"notableStudents":[],"lineage":null,"social":{"instagram":"https://www.instagram.com/lucas_kanard/","website":"https://www.patreon.com/cw/lucaskanard","bjjFanatics":"https://bjjfanatics.com/products/attacking-outside-finishing-inside-by-lucas-kanard"},"sources":[{"label":"BJJ Heroes — 2024 ADCC Asia And Oceania Trials 2 Results","url":"https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-news/2024-adcc-asia-and-oceania-trials-2-results"},{"label":"Total Health Performance — Kanard upsets Victor Hugo at CJI 2024","url":"https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/lucas-kanard-upsets-number-one-seed-victor-hugo-at-craig-jones-invitational-2024"},{"label":"FloGrappling — 2026 ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials Recap","url":"https://www.flograppling.com/articles/16009759-2026-adcc-asia-oceania-trials-recap-8-qualify-in-australia"},{"label":"FloGrappling — Craig Jones Invitational 2 Results","url":"https://www.flograppling.com/articles/14501153-craig-jones-invitational-2-results-heres-who-won-at-cji"},{"label":"BJJ Heroes — Polaris 33 Squads Results","url":"https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-news/polaris-33-squads-results-south-america-x-australasia"},{"label":"Gold BJJ — Lucas Kanard athlete profile","url":"https://goldbjj.com/blogs/athletes/lucas-kanard"},{"label":"UAEJJF — Lucas Kanard fighter profile","url":"https://events.uaejjf.org/sv/profile/35438"},{"label":"BJJ Fanatics — Attacking Outside Finishing Inside","url":"https://bjjfanatics.com/products/attacking-outside-finishing-inside-by-lucas-kanard"},{"label":"Sydney Wrestling Academy","url":"https://www.sydwrestling.com.au/sydney-wrestling-academy-classes"}],"lastUpdated":"2026-07-15"}