By NORMAN ANAWAT
A new club for BYU students who would like to learn a different type of martial art called jiu-jitsu is now available on campus.
The Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Club will have a demonstration today from 12 to 2 p.m. on the Checkerboard Quad, said Brad Baugh, a senior from Alberta, Canada, majoring in mechanical engineering .
Jiu-jitsu is a style of martial art based on grappling and self-defense, said Pedro Sauer, a certified instructor from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The jiu-jitsu style originated in Brazil, when a Japanese man named, Comde Koma, immigrated there with a knowledge of the principles of the art, Sauer said.
The principles behind jiu-jitsu are based on the knowledge old Buddhist monks from India had about the human body, particularly its joints and ligaments, Sauer said.
Based on this knowledge of joints and ligaments, and on how much a person can stretch them, the jiu-jitsu style was developed, he said.
In Brazil, jiu-jitsu developed through Carlos Gracie who learned the discipline then developed and incorporated new techniques to make jiu-jitsu applicable to those who did not have a large build, Sauer said.
Sauer also said the Brazilian jiu-jitsu is different from the Japanese jiu-jitsu because the Brazilian form focuses more on self-defense and grappling, whereas the Japanese form is more like judo.
In jiu-jitsu, people give time to their opponent to surrender by immobilizing their joints without breaking them, Sauer said.
The strategy behind jiu-jitsu is a mental one, and it can be compared to a chess game, Sauer said.
When people play chess, they are always thinking about the next move, and in jiu-jitsu the same principle applies, he said.
“Jiu-jitsu is not about how tough you are, but how you can prepare your opponent to fall into your trap,” Sauer said.
Sauer said people may know different moves, but if they do not know how to make their opponent fall into their moves, they will always be fighting a stronger opponent, he said.
“Jiu-jitsu is 100 percent tricking your opponent,” Sauer said.
Jiu-jitsu is fairly new to the United States where around 2,000 people take lessons. It is most popular in California, Hawaii and Utah, he said.
For more information about the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Club, students may call Jeff Bray, president of the club, at 375-0219.
