Bekka Widenmeyer
Staff Writer
Jiu Jitsu isn’t just for the student who has a love for martial arts it also aids in the development of discipline.
Las Positas College is home to 36 student clubs, from Business and Math to Ultimate Frisbee and Horticulture.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was created by third year student Daniel Tribble for the purposes of self-defense, training and competing.
“There’s a sport aspect to it,” Tribble said.
“There are a lot of tournaments in this area, so you could just do it for exercise. It’s a great workout. There’s lots of applications of it, but self-defense is the main purpose.”
Now into the fourth week of training, the members are learning basic yet effective moves to defend themselves.
The club gathers in groups of two or three, practicing grappling methods that are observed by Tribble for both safety and instruction.
“This is a safe environment to learn the most ideal ways to protect yourself, in an environment where the people do care about you so that if you need to tap out or you need to say that hurts, it’s fine,” first-year student Kimberly Mathews said.
“Everyone’s very respectful of each other.”
The students involved in the club have different reasons for joining, yet at the end of the day, it all comes down to self-defense.
“I always wanted to learn how to fight,” first-year student Zeidan Azraei said.
“Something could happen to a woman who is being hurt. This club could teach that person in that situation how to defend themselves in a way to where they can actually make sure that person won’t bother them anymore.”
The club meets every Monday and Wednesday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in P.E. 213.
If a student is looking for self-defense, training or simply fulfilling the love of martial arts, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club at LPC would be one of the first places to go.
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