Mention Brazilian jiu-jitsu to someone and the most likely response will be, "Huh?"
What people may not realize is that Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a crucial driving force behind the increasingly popular Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC has stormed the mainstream sporting scene in recent years and is currently challenging boxing for the throne of fighting entertainment. The ESPN franchise has recently given UFC coverage on its networks and Web site, to the chagrin of many in the boxing industry.
The appeal of UFC, as opposed to boxing, is widespread. It's faster; it's more exciting; it involves all forms of fighting and maybe most importantly, it's not tainted by scandal and corruption.
"Boxing is like a controlled mafia thing, where people might throw a fight," said Eddie Edmunds, head instructor of the Fusion Academy of Brazilian jiu-hitsu in Salt Lake. "In UFC you have no idea who's going to win, it's much more exciting."
Edmunds has been training martial arts all his life and opened the Fusion Academy in Salt Lake four years ago to teach the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Helio Gracie, of the famed Gracie family, was pivotal in starting the martial art back in the 1940s as a way for smaller people to defend themselves against bigger foes. Gracie himself weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 155 lbs. He used to challenge anyone, no matter their size, to fight him, using any variation of fighting, and he'd emerge victorious almost always.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu teaches one to use their opponents' weight against them. It's an art of ground grappling, choke holds and submissions. Anyone who has ever taken in a match of UFC would recognize this right away as many fighters try to take their opponents directly to the ground, especially if the opponent is bigger or has a longer reach, as opposed to exchanging blows in hope of a knockout.
When UFC first started, if a fighter knew jiu-jitsu and his opponent didn't, well it was essentially over — like fish out of water, once they were on the ground. That's why you'll be hard-pressed to find any fighters in UFC today without at least some training in jiu-jitsu.
Edmunds' academy isn't a bloodbath filled with students blasting one another alla UFC, however. These students aren't training to become the next Chuck Liddell or Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. In fact, Edmunds doesn't even teach students how to strike until years down the road.
"We don't teach strikes; we teach how to defend them," emphasized Edmunds.
Edmunds' purpose in teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu is, really, the same purpose it was created in the first place — self defense.
Edmunds talks about a female student who was being picked on at school by a group of girls. She came to train at Fusion Academy and when she first arrived, her confidence was lacking. After spending time training and picking up some of the moves and nuances of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the girl's confidence was beaming. When the girls finally came at her, she was prepared and used jiu-jitsu to defend herself. It's safe to say those girls are no longer a problem.
It's not rare to find female students training jiu-jitsu. Edmunds says you can find much diversity among his trainees. He's got students from Poland, Brazil, Germany and Bulgaria, as well as the United States. He's got kids, adults, Ph.D.s and law students. He boasts about the variety of people who have come to learn and better themselves, and with a newly opened Cottonwood location he expects that wide range of people to grow even wider.
As UFC becomes progressively more popular, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is reaching a bigger audience and is starting to appear on more people's radars.
"The UFC has been a huge marketing tool, but I tell parents I'll teach their kids the martial art first, then strikes (if they approve)," said Edmunds.
So, mention Brazilian jiu-jitsu to someone and the most likely response won't be, huh? Maybe they will know exactly what you're talking about.
E-mail: nstorey@desnews.com