After spending most of the year training alone, Bywater took a chance and headed interstate to compete for the first time in almost 12 months. Bywater said it had been a tough year without any contact training, but he was proud of his results at the event.

"I probably wished too much at the start of the year, when I wanted to compete as much as possible," he said.

"Obviously, that didn't turn out. Due to restrictions, we couldn't train either."

Bywater said he jumped at the opportunity as soon as he saw travel restrictions between the states were easing.

He signed up for a Gi event, something he had not competed in for a long time.

"A Gi event is one where competitors are wearing a uniform and it changes the dynamics of the fight massively," he said.

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"You can grab hold of the sleeve, the pants the collar and manipulate your opponent like that.

"98 per cent of my Jiu-Jitsu training has been with no-Gi.

"I own a Gi and I thought why not just sign up for the event and see how I go."

Bywater said despite having his own gym at home, it wasn't the same as contact training.

"I didn't get myself out of shape or fitness," he said.

"I had two training sessions before I headed off."

Bywater had three fights to claim the silver against competitors who weren't under the restrictions of contact sport through winter.

"I ran through the first guy and won about 16 points up," he said. "I beat the second guy in 30 seconds. In the last matchup for the day, I was winning in points until the last minute where I was defeated and he won gold. The guy who defeated me was the Queensland state champion for the past two years."

Bywater said in 2021 he hoped he could get to more tournaments and was still eager to transition over to MMA.

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