Jiu Jitsu has been featured in The Matrix, and combatants in Ultimate Fighting have used it to a devastating effect. Hailing back to Samurai days in ancient Japan, the martial art was brought over to Brazil where it morphed into the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that is more commonly seen today. The recently formed Wesleyan Jiu Jitsu Club has now made the martial art available to students here on campus.

“It’s pretty much a control game and the end goal is a joint lock, choke, or hold,” said co-founder Justin Pena ’12. “The great thing is that you can go all-out without actually hurting the opponent.”

Jiu Jitsu is an adaptive grappling martial art where skill trumps strength. There is very little striking and most of the energy is focused on throws, take-downs, and sweeps. Emphasis is placed on balance and negating weight advantages. Jiu Jitsu was virtually unknown in the United States until 1993, when the advent of Ultimate Fighting, a competition where contenders combine various martial arts combination in combat, brought it into the spotlight.

The Wesleyan Jiu Jitsu Club was re-formed this year by Pena and Adam Peck ’12 after the club disbanded following the graduation of its members two years ago. Pena and Peck felt as if the campus was missing something from its reservoir of martial arts, which include Kung Fu and Taekwondo.

Pena, who took Jiu Jitsu in high school, felt competent to lead the first few classes, but he and Peck preferred the instruction of a coach to make the club more serious. They employed the help of Chris Wright-Martell, an instructor at the Modern Self Defense Center in Middletown, who meets with the club every Tuesday to coach them on various aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Wright-Martell began his own Jiu Jitsu journey as a member of the University’s previous club in 1997. After training in San Diego, he taught Jiu Jitsu at the University’s freshmen orientation each year until the budget was cut several years ago. He led a self-defense class through the Athletics department as a for-credit physical education class for several years, as well. Wright-Martell is trained in 20 different martial arts and teaches seven at the Modern Self Defense Center. He currently has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu, after 13 years of training.

Jiu Jitsu teaches techniques where weight is not a factor.

“I first got into it because I’m not a big guy…what happens when a 300 pound guy pins me to the ground?” Wright-Martell said. “Jiu Jitsu has an advantage over all of the other approaches because it tests real world abilities in a way that’s not going to hurt your partner.”

Moreover, in Jiu Jitsu, as in most street fights, participants commonly end up fighting on the ground. This makes Jiu Jitsu a practical self-defense sport for every day occurrences.
“People don’t treat self-defense the same way as planning for a fire,” Wright-Martell said. “The best thing Jiu Jitsu does is to teach you to be offensive, how to deal with chaos and how to deal with people who are trying to hit you.”

For Pena, Jiu Jitsu is also about the workout and having fun.

“I like to practice in a fun atmosphere,” Pena said. “In a way it’s a stress reliever and I’m very intrigued by the idea of being able to protect yourself.”