Last week, Brazilian Monique Bastos made international headlines for thwarting the attack of two would-be phone thieves, literally bringing one of them to his knees and crying for his mother. Bastos, weighing only 115 pounds, used the Brazilian jiujitsu tactics she had mastered during her MMA training to bring down her attackers.
Unfortunately, college students may face similar threatening situations but do not have the knowledge or experience to defend themselves properly. Thankfully, a student organization at NC State is now helping students be prepared for self-defense by learning the martial art of Brazilian jiujitsu.
Brazilian jiujitsu is unlike most defense systems in that its main focus is not on striking. Instead, it focuses on grappling and ground fighting with the goal of bringing an opponent into submission using techniques such as chokeholds and arm bars.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club at NC State was founded in 2013 when Shayaan Sarfraz, a junior studying electrical and computer engineering, and Austin Ferreira, a junior studying geology, began to practice jiujitsu on campus together. The two had each been training at different locations until Ferreira posted on the Wolfpack Students Facebook page asking if anyone was interested in training at Carmichael Gymnasium.
Sarfraz and Ferreira met, began to train, and eventually decided to create a student organization so that others interested in jiujitsu would be able to train as well. They designed the club so that it would profit both students with experience in jiujitsu and those who were complete novices.
“In the club, we have three people who have 30 years combined experience, and we also have people that have no experience at all,” Sarfraz said.
The club has two main components to its training. Members study the traditions of Brazilian jiujitsu, and they also study the sporting side of the martial art. Ferreira and Sarfraz, both actually fairly new to the sport, leave the club’s instructional officers in charge of explaining techniques. Ferreira and Sarfraz handle the business side of the club and help instruct beginning level members.
“I’ve done jiujitsu on and off for a couple of years now,” Sarfraz said. “Austin and I don’t know everything. We have instructional officers that have years of experience, so they head up the process and explain what the students need to know.”
Even though the club has only been in existence for two years, it has already seen success. Last semester, the club went to its first jiujitsu competition at UNC-Chapel Hill and finished number one.
“We thoroughly defeated UNC and Duke at the competition in the spring even though those schools have more established programs,” Sarfraz said. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
Sarfraz hopes the competition was just the first of many successful contests. He is now looking into going to competitions more regularly.
One thing that makes the group so special is the fact that its members come from diverse backgrounds but share a common interest.
“I think its special because we are just a ragtag group of guys that got together and kind of just turned into a club,” Ferreira said.
The club is in the process of growing and becoming an official university-recognized organization. As an official organization, the club would be able to use the Wolfpack logo on uniforms and equipment and have designated practice locations. Sarfraz is in contact with UNC-CH’s jiujitsu club president and asks for advice regarding how to become a better club.
Sarfraz hopes the club will help college students get the experience they need to defend themselves if necessary.
“There are a lot of benefits to learning jiujitsu, especially the self-defense aspect,” Sarfraz said. “It’s good to get the exposure to give college kids a means to defend themselves.”
Daniel Goldstein, a senior studying aerospace engineering, demonstrates an armlock technique on Nick Hill, a freshman studying aerospace engineering. This was during a practice of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club on Monday, Sep. 7 in the Carmichael Combat Room.
