Students hit the mat with Japanese jiu-jitsu

By Amanda Blas, Staff Writer blas13@up.edu

Sophomores Andrew Stuhr and Bruce Julian are no karate kids, but they are big fans of a less-known form of martial arts: Japanese jiu-jitsu.

"Japanese jiu-jitsu is a martial art that relies on manipulating your opponent's force against themselves rather than using direct force of your own," Julian said. "It's a different kind of fighting style that characterizes itself as a form of self-defense. It was developed to be used against armed or armored opponents against whom strikes would be ineffective."

Thanks to Stuhr and Julian's Japanese jiu-jitsu class taught every Tuesday at 8 p.m. upstairs in Howard Hall, the martial art is slowly making its way to the UP campus.

Stuhr started out training in two forms of Korean martial arts, Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do, before he got into Japanese jiu-jitsu.

"I trained in a local studio, and I would see a Japanese jiu-jitsu class come in and train," Stuhr said. "After having my interest sparked, I got permission from the Sensei running the jiu-jitsu classes and my Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do instructors to join the class and cross train in Japanese jiu-jitsu."

After training in Japanese jiu-jitsu for the last two years, Stuhr now has his brown belt. However, he still hopes to further his Japanese jiu-jitsu training.

"I plan to keep on learning and teaching others the art," Stuhr said. "Hopefully I'll reach black belt and beyond, or maybe one day start my own school on the side if all goes well."

On the other hand, Julian had first heard about Japanese jiu-jitsu through friends and family, who did a modern version of the martial art, Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"The jiu-jitsu scene at home [in Guam] seems to be a lot more popular than it is out here, so I would informally do some jiu-jitsu with other people in their backyards and whatnot," Julian said. "It came pretty naturally to me, and I liked it so much that I ended up training at a mixed martial arts gym near my house that had Japanese jiu-jitsu classes."

Julian had wrestled for three years in high school. After placing first on Guam and second in the regional Pacific wrestling tournament, he decided that he wanted some formal martial arts training to help keep in shape and improve his wrestling game.

"While the core ideas and goals are very different from each other, I feel that my wrestling experience has greatly improved my jiu-jitsu game and vice versa," Julian said. "I have a larger range of techniques to draw from on the mat for both jiu-jitsu and wrestling."

Knowing each other from living on the same floor in Schoenfeldt Hall and from their participation in the Latin Dance Club, Julian and Stuhr had heard about each other's experience with jiu-jitsu and decided to use their mutual passion for the martial art to spread the word about Japanese jiu-jitsu around UP.

"Bruce said he trained in Japanese jiu-jitsu in Guam for several years, so right then and there I asked him if he would be interested in teaching it with me on campus," Stuhr said. "After a few weeks of planning, we started our first class and now here we are."

According to Julian, jiu-jitsu provides a different kind of exercise compared to other fitness classes.

"Jiu-jitsu training and sparring helps to build your cardiovascular and muscle stamina because it involves almost all of your muscle groups at the same time," Julian said.

Besides being physically stimulating, Stuhr hopes the jiu-jitsu class will be mentally stimulating as well.

"Hopefully we'll teach them a decent amount about the art of Japanese jiu-jitsu, along with the discipline that goes with it," Stuhr said. "Hopefully [the students] will respect and pass on the knowledge of it, which can give you some discipline training to do things you thought you couldn't."

So far, the class has been a success, with 30 and 40 people show up each class. According to freshman Arthur Hammer who has attended the class since it first started, Stuhr and Julian's class has numerous benefits.

"The class is simply a great way to relax. It's low-stress, friendly and interesting," Hammer said. "We're competitive enough to get the blood flowing, but it's always in good spirit."

Sophomore Will Schlotfeldt feels the class is great for anyone.

"It's accessible enough so that people who have no experience [in jiu-jitsu] can learn and participate, yet people who do have experience can challenge themselves and improve," Schlotfeldt said. "It's really welcoming and helps make everyone better, no matter their skill level."

Stuhr and Julian have hopes to see the class expand into a club and have plans to expand the scope of the class as well.

"We're looking into workshops with local studios in the area and at local grappling tournaments as well." Stuhr said.