Legendary Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Royce Gracie helped bring it to the masses in the early days of the MMA organization, often easily defeating larger and more intimidating opponents with pure skill and technique honed over years of work in his family’s fighting system.
Interest in jiu jitsu has grown steadily since those days in the early 90s, with Moose Jaw now home to a rapidly growing club under the Nova Uniao banner, Control Jiu Jitsu.
The gym, located in the basement of Dirk Fitness at 4 Hochelaga West and Main Street, was buzzing with activity on Monday night during the club’s weekly ‘Jits 101’beginner class as newcomers fitted gi’s and learned to tie their belts – white in colour, naturally – before taking to the mats for a training session.
“So this is a good class for if you’re trying it out, it’s a great entry level to the sport and a chance to work on the fundamentals, the basics of jiu jitsu,” said blue belt instructor Cody Enns, who trains under club founder, brown belt Jason Church. “It’s great for a guy’s first time out it’s also good for guys who have been doing it a long time and want to drill on the basics and train some of the fundamentals.
Control is directly affiliated with Complete Martial Arts and Fitness out of Regina, the high-level club run by black belt and world masters champion A.J. Scales, who himself has trained with world-famous Nova Uniao out of Brazil and perennial world championship contender Wendell Alexander.
With that kind of a pedigree, it should come as little surprise that the level of instruction at Control is as high as can be for a fledgling club.
“It goes all the way up, we have purple belts and brown belts as well, literally all levels,” Enns said. “We have guys who have never grappled before and don’t even know what jiu jitsu is and just want the great work out…. It can be a little bit humbling how tiring it gets. You see it and it looks like ‘oh that’s not that tiring they’re just lying on the ground’ and 15 minutes into class they have to stop because they can’t believe how exhausted they are. It’s all about efficiency, the first time you don’t know how to be efficient yet, so it’s something you have to learn.”
The club also has a solid competitive group, with fighters taking part in provincial and national level tournaments as well as the occasional world-level event.
“Competitive isn’t manadatory, but it’s a great way to test yourself and see what you’ve learned, see how you do against a fully resisting opponent kind-of-thing,” Enns said.
The Jits 101 class runs every Monday at 7:30 p.m. and is open to anyone interested in checking out the sport. Participants simply sign a waiver, put on a gi and are off to the races in a safe and, yes, controlled environment.
For more information on Control Jiu Jitsu as well as a full schedule of classes and club information, check www.controlbjj.com
