Although there are only 3 students who practice it here in the high school, Jiu-Jitsu is a worldwide martial art. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, hosted by Fight to Win MMA, will take place on Nov. 14. Everybody who is participating is excited.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu originated from the Japanese Martial Art, Jujutsu, which takes ground fighting, and combined it with Judo, for the throws and takedowns. Jujutsu had many variations, some with dominant styles of ground fighting, and some with dominant styles of just throws and takedowns. Judo was a simple martial art of takedowns and then pins, to prevent the opponent from moving. A man named Geo Omori opened the first Jujutsu / Judo school in Brazil, in 1909, creating Jiu-Jitsu when he combined the two martial arts. The first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held in the U.S. was in 1995, in Irvine, California.

Jesse Lopez, who practices Jiu-Jitsu, is going to go to the tournament not to participate, but to learn. He’s going to watch and see what people do in certain situations, so he’ll be prepared for his next tournament. He enjoys practicing Jiu-Jitsu and goes to the Aspen MMA classes every Saturday. He feels that he will be prepared for the next tournament that occurs, and he will participate. Only two other students practice Jiu-Jitsu in the High School, but it may get more publicity with the tournaments.

Ernesto Mendez, the coach or teacher for the Aspen MMA classes, says the he feels that everyone from his class who is competing is ready for the tournament. Mendez says that he isn’t doing it for fun or sport, just to be safe when doing it, and applying the things you learn in it to the competition. He had 10 years in Jiu-Jitsu before he started teaching it to others, learning different techniques from multiple professors.

“You never stop learning, you just keep going. Jiu-Jitsu is addictive, you could keep doing it until you’re 90,” said Mendez.

Jiu-Jitsu is more of a self-defense martial art, but with different styles being applied in different situations. There’s street style, competition, or just one-on-one self defense style. All types of Jiu-Jitsu are taught in Ernesto’s class. Many people come in to learn as well. He teaches military veterans, active military personnel, police officers, professional fighters, teachers, and people who are just doing it for fun. Jiu-Jitsu is all about your surroundings, and what style to use in that situation. It’s about learning the basics, and then coming up with new ways to escape a situation.