The Arkansas State Jiu-Jitsu Club is a club that promotes self-defense techniques and strategies. It meets on Saturdays at 3 p.m. in the group fitness room in the Red WOLF Center. 

“I’ve trained in martial arts for a long time. I’ve done Jiu-Jitsu now for about 10 years,” said Trey Hicks, assistant director of campus recreation and the advisor for the Jiu-Jitsu Club. “I had some student employees who knew I trained and competed in my free time and they showed interest in wanting to learn.”

After the Red WOLF Center closed, those interested in learning martial arts, the majority being employees, would stay behind practicing. Hicks said those employees brought their friends and it gradually grew from there. 

The club became an official registered student organization in fall 2021. Not only did the group want to make the club official, they also saw it as a way to gain traction. Cody Wood, a graduate student from Brookland said making the club an RSO helped it secure funding as well.

The Jiu-Jitsu Club welcomes students, faculty, staff and alumni of all skill levels. 

“For me as an instructor, when I have to teach a class that has varying skill levels, I try to pick a topic or an area of the martial arts that I feel like you can teach both basic details and kind of just get the person moving and then also teach some advanced details,” Hicks said. “That way I can make it basic for the brand new people. And then for the ones who have trained longer try to add some additional details.”

Angelo Brown, Ph.D., assistant professor of criminology, practices with the club. He said he joined because he wanted to be part of the university community outside of the classroom. 

“I teach police and society courses, so I know how important being proficient in the art is for policing and for self-defense,” Brown said. “Data from various departments has shown that it can reduce the use of forceful incidents after implementing a Jiu-Jitsu program and also helped improve officers’ physical and mental health. I also make health and fitness a priority and this is a fun and supportive environment to get a great workout.”

On Feb. 4, the Jiu-Jitsu Club went to its first ever competition. Three members of the club went, Hicks, Wood and Hunter Harris, a sophomore electrical engineering major from Jonesboro who serves as club president.

“I lost every match,” Harris said. “I honestly think I did the best in my last bracket of the tournament, which was the Gi bracket. My opponent was super aggressive the entire match. He chained together many submissions but he wasn’t able to get a single one. I almost ended the match with a submission of my own, but he was able to escape and win out on points.”

A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to an opponent. If the person yields, this results in immediate defeat.

Wood earned a bronze medal and Hicks earned gold. The club also plans on going to more competitions in the future, with the next one coming up in June. 

Harris said while going to the meetings can be intimidating, that shouldn’t keep someone from joining. 

“I know it can be intimidating at first but we’re here to help you get better, not hurt you. You never have to do anything you’re not comfortable doing. You can leave at any point you wish, we don’t have any formal bow out or anything like that,” Harris said.

Hicks, Harris, Wood and Brown encouraged anyone who would be interested in learning Jiu-Jitsu to join. 

“Everybody’s welcome to come, we have no requirements,” Wood said. “No prior knowledge is required. There’s no uniform dress code or anything like that. It’s very relaxed. People can show up however they want. Invite your friends to try it out.”

Categories: Life