Mixed Martial Arts, more commonly known as MMA, is becoming quite popular among young men and women and has grown a large following over the last few years, due to more televised events like the UFC [ultimate fighting championship].
One of these Mixed Martial Arts is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which is a martial art that focuses on grappling and ground fighting.
Here at Keene State College the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club is also growing a large following.
Contributed Photos by Arian Deihim
Instructor and junior at KSC Arian Deihim, who has been involved with the club for a several years now, is really starting to see the effects that jiu-jitsu not only has on the body, but on the person inside.
“When I look around at my students sometimes I’m like ‘man, we’re a bunch of misfits’ — I think that people who gravitate towards martial arts have been missing something in their life in stability. Maybe parents weren’t that great, maybe just relationships with family and upbringing,” Deihim said.
He continued, “I personally lost my parents at a young age and that’s what pulled me towards it. And you know, a lot of the people that stick with it need to draw some stability from somewhere other than home life or school. We have a lot of ‘normal’ folks that come in and train, but the people who train with us really need it. It’s something you can’t do once or twice and expect to be a black belt. It’s something you do three times a week for the rest of your life almost. People who feel stable in themselves already might not feel like that’s something they need — people who stick with it are the people that want to better themselves in other ways than getting in shape,” Deihim said.
The club practices Monday through Thursday for about an hour and a half in the multi-purpose room in the gym and averages about ten-to-twelve students out of the 25 registered for the club.
When the members aren’t training at KSC they have the option to train for free at a local gym called Flow in Swanzey, New Hampshire.
Sydnie Kleiman has been a member of the club since her first year at KSC.
Now a junior, Kleiman said when she first started the club, there were no girls, but she eventually ended up liking being the only female.
“I grew to be a little sister to them. They were all like my big brothers so it was nice. They’re all so nice,” Kleiman said.
Kleiman is a black belt in Kempo, which is a martial art more like karate.
When looking for clubs at school she knew she wanted to do something with martial arts and said she was really excited when she found the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club.
Kleiman explained that her karate background does in fact play into her jiu-jitsu skill.
“Some of karate is like standing up jiu jitsu, so I know how to hold grips, break grips and different submissions. Sometimes when we haven’t learned things in jiu-jitsu I try to incorporate some karate to get out of things. It’s an art where you get thrown down a lot and it’s really tough, so I think it’s [karate] made me a better jiu-jitsu person, because I’m tougher and don’t tap so easy,” Kleiman said.
She continued to explain another reason why she loves the club and the sport so much.
“It’s [jiu-jitsu] also a really good outlet — you know, if you’re having a really bad day, just show up with your friends, doing something you love. Martial arts allows you to get out aggression in a healthy way and that’s something I love about it,” Kleiman said.
Earlier this month the team competed at the Vermont Open Tournament. Kleiman, who is a white belt in jiu-jitsu, lost her first match, but came back in round two by beating a more-skilled opponent.
“All competitors were blue belt, so it was kind of cool to beat someone who was better than me. I learned a lot, “ Kleiman said.
She also explained that another reason why she likes training with the men is because the competition makes her stronger.
Like Kleiman, other members of the team also competed at the Vermont Open and all took home medals. Max Lighthall took home a gold medal in the intermediate division. Collin Currier took home gold in his novice division while Deihim took home a gold in the advanced division.
Each member is said to be supportive of each other, and have grown to be great friends.
Sophomore Collin Currier said that members of the club hangout outside of practice a good amount and have a lot of fun.
“We have a little jiu-jitsu family,” Kleiman said.
They said the tight-knit bond between the team is what makes them so successful and the club a fun place to train.
“Everyone should do jiu-jitsu! It teaches people a lot — teaches people control, respect, discipline. I suggest it for all types of people,” Kleiman said.
“It’s been a great place for people who otherwise wouldn’t really fit on a lacrosse team or on a girls’ field hockey team, but they fit in, in jiu-jitsu,” Deihim said.
Kendall Pope can be contacted at kpope@keene-equinox.com
