IT IS mid-morning at Lange’s MMA gym in North Manly. An advanced-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu class is well under way and it quickly becomes clear that this is no place for the faint-hearted.

Divided into pairs, the gym’s members are rolling, wriggling and stretching their limbs any way they can in the hope of forcing their opponent into submission.

Then, all of a sudden, on the far corner of the training mat, a pair stops grappling without warning.

One of the two men clutches his left shin in pain and the other does not show any immediate reaction. There’s good reason for this.

Andre Powell has no idea his opponent is injured because he is visually impaired — completely blind in his left eye and with about six per cent vision in his right eye.

media_camera Andre Powell (purple shirt) training in his advanced BJJ class. Picture: Braden Fastier.

In an environment that demands fast body movements and strong visual awareness, logic would suggest that Powell should struggle at the martial art commonly referred to as BJJ.

But that could not be further from the truth.

After learning that the injury to Powell’s training partner is not severe, the head coach and Australian BJJ pioneer Anthony Lange walks to the other side of the mat, cracks a smile and says something you feel he has said many times before: “They underestimate how strong he is.”

Powell, of Warriewood, was born with a blindness-causing condition called congenital glaucoma and has had more than 50 surgeries to both eyes since he was born.

He has a degree in a field that is all about helping people — counselling — yet he has not found somebody willing to give him a job because he cannot drive.

media_camera Andre with his beloved guide dog Olsen at Queenscliff Beach. Picture: Braden Fastier.

When he was 10, Powell was prone to more than the standard number of bumps and bruises expected for an active child at that age. Once, he was lucky to not have been seriously injured when he careered off a slope and into a creek while on a ski trip.

There are many things Powell cannot do that non-visually impaired people can.

But BJJ and a steadfast determination to get the absolute maximum out of life are two things Powell does better than most.

The 28-year-old has been training and competing in BJJ for seven years and has overcome his perceived disadvantage to win two major tournaments.

After winning his weight division at the prestigious Gracie Worlds 2013 event, he won a title last month at Melbourne’s Arnold Classic 2015 BJJ Championships as a brown belt — the highest grading before black belt.

media_camera As a youngster Andre loved to ski despite being visually impaired. Pic: Supplied

media_camera Andre was drawn to martial arts from a young age. Pic: Supplied

When I ask Powell if he is aware of how inspirational his BJJ success would be to others, he downplays the suggestion.

“Not really ... if I can do it, anybody can do it,” he says.

He even jokingly points out that there is just one major advantage his opponents have over him when learning new BJJ moves: “The only limitation ... YouTube instructions.”

But Lange, a highly respected third-degree black belt with 20 years of coaching experience, disagrees with Powell’s self-assessment and feels he is unique.

“I’m pretty sure he is the highest-graded person (who is) legally blind in Australia,” he says.

“Those two wins say a huge amount for any practitioner of the art, let alone the difficulties he has to deal with.

media_camera Inspirational blind jiu-jitsu competitor Andre Powell attempts a leg lock against an opponent in training. Picture: Braden Fastier.

“Andre is remarkable on so many different levels.”

Lange explains that Powell’s visual restrictions mean he moves a lot slower than others on the mat but that style in itself has positives.

“Some people are stiff and violent in their movements, so it leaves a lot of openings,” he says.

“So we blindfold a lot of our students to make them wrestle in a smoother way. Andre wrestles in the most smooth, flowing way.

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“You don’t realise how dangerous he is. Something comes on, (submission moves) like a choke or an arm bar and they come on hard, so you better be tapping really quickly.”

Perhaps the underlying reason why Powell is the way we he is — and proving the doubters wrong — stems from his childhood.

media_camera Anthony Lange has described his student as “a remarkable man”. Picture: Braden Fastier.

Powell’s mother, Sharron, was determined to give her son the same opportunities to do things the other kids were doing.

From abseiling to hanging on to his friends’ pushbikes while he rollerbladed around the neighbourhood, Powell was always given the chance to test himself when he wanted to.

“I’ve always tried to encourage Andre to do the best that he can do and do it to the best of his ability,” she says.

“We haven’t tried to hold him back or wrap him in cotton wool.”

The training session is over and Powell is preparing to go home.

But before he leaves the gym he shares with me a simple yet invaluable philosophy by which he lives his life.

It is something all of us could remind ourselves to do more often.

“At least try it once ... if it doesn't work out it doesn’t work out but you haven’t lost anything,” he says.

● If you can help Powell get counselling work, email bryn.kay@news.com.au. Watch him in training at facebook.com/manlydaily.