Sensei Gabrielle Bessette
Sensei Gabrielle Bessette began her martial arts journey in September of 2009 under the guidance of Sensei Dan Kennedy at the Kingston Jiu Jitsu Club. She remained with this club until closure in July 2015. She continued her Jiu Jitsu training at the Westbrook/Kingston dojo under Professor Dave Robitaille as well as attending the Harrowsmith dojo on occasion to assist and further developed her martial arts skills.
Always wanting to learn, Gabrielle enjoys travelling outside of Kingston to attend seminars. She has traveled to Ottawa and attended many of the Canadian Ninja Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Fellowship (CNJJBBF) seminars, (affectionately known as summinars), given by high ranking members of the CNJJBBF to include Professors Ray Zwicker and Michel Leblanc to name a few. Other seminars include a Jiu Jitsu seminar in Brockville given by Kyoshi Robert Krantz. She has also participated in several seminars given by Sensei Jim Clark when he flys in from the East Coast.
The Kingston and Harrowsmith clubs have established a “Student of the Year” award recognizing one student who has, amongst many other criteria, been an exceptional team player supporting the overall growth of the clubs and fellow students. Gabrielle received the Student of the year award for 2017-2018.
Gabrielle was tested for her Black Belt on July 6, 2019 alongside Sensei Mariane Gravel. Both candidates received copious accolades on their performance. This is the first time in decades two women have been tested at the same time for Shodan within the CNJJBBF.
The Kingston and Harrowsmith clubs are now fortunate to have Sensei Gabrielle as a member of the instructor cadre. Gabrielle, continues to expand her horizons. As well as instructing in Harrowsmith and Kingston she has taken up BJJ at a local Kingston Dojo.
