# Lucas Kanard

> 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.

- **Canonical page:** https://ossmeta.com/athletes/lucas-kanard
- **Markdown:** https://ossmeta.com/athletes/lucas-kanard.md
- **JSON:** https://ossmeta.com/api/public/athletes/lucas-kanard
- **Source site:** Ossmeta (https://ossmeta.com)
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-15

## Identity

- **Name:** Lucas Kanard
- **Full name:** Lucas Kanard
- **Belt:** black belt
- **Team:** Sydney Wrestling Academy
- **Nationality:** Australia
- **Weight class:** −88 kg / 194 lb (ADCC middleweight)

## 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).

## Signature techniques / game

- Open guard / supine guard
- K-guard
- Berimbolo / bolo entries
- Inside heel hook
- Outside heel hook
- Z-lock
- Kneebar
- Leg entanglements (saddle / outside ashi)

## Major 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)

## Colored belt highlights

- 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)

## Official / social links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucas_kanard/
- Website: https://www.patreon.com/cw/lucaskanard
- BJJ Fanatics: https://bjjfanatics.com/products/attacking-outside-finishing-inside-by-lucas-kanard

## Sources

- [BJJ Heroes — 2024 ADCC Asia And Oceania Trials 2 Results](https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-news/2024-adcc-asia-and-oceania-trials-2-results)
- [Total Health Performance — Kanard upsets Victor Hugo at CJI 2024](https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/lucas-kanard-upsets-number-one-seed-victor-hugo-at-craig-jones-invitational-2024)
- [FloGrappling — 2026 ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials Recap](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/16009759-2026-adcc-asia-oceania-trials-recap-8-qualify-in-australia)
- [FloGrappling — Craig Jones Invitational 2 Results](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/14501153-craig-jones-invitational-2-results-heres-who-won-at-cji)
- [BJJ Heroes — Polaris 33 Squads Results](https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-news/polaris-33-squads-results-south-america-x-australasia)
- [Gold BJJ — Lucas Kanard athlete profile](https://goldbjj.com/blogs/athletes/lucas-kanard)
- [UAEJJF — Lucas Kanard fighter profile](https://events.uaejjf.org/sv/profile/35438)
- [BJJ Fanatics — Attacking Outside Finishing Inside](https://bjjfanatics.com/products/attacking-outside-finishing-inside-by-lucas-kanard)
- [Sydney Wrestling Academy](https://www.sydwrestling.com.au/sydney-wrestling-academy-classes)

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