The SCAD Jiu Jitsu club
Photo courtesy of the SCAD Jiu Jitsu Club
Written by Paige Cano
Jiu Jitsu sometimes seems like something only pros can do, but the SCAD Jiu Jitsu club is more accepting of the lower level “grasshoppers.”
A professional works with the club once a week to help people from every skill set, from beginner to advanced and even competition level, according to Seunghyun Ha, club president and sophomore architecture major from Seoul, South Korea.
Ha wanted to carry on his appreciation for mixed martial arts at SCAD. “I watched Jiu Jitsu a lot when I was in army and got interested in MMA,” Ha said, “and after watching MMA I found out that Jiu Jitsu is really a key in mixed martial arts.”
The club meets once a week and is led by a professional instructor. Even Ha is learning along with the rest of the members. Despite still being a white belt, Ha has gone to several competitions and hopes that others may want to enter alongside him, though it is certainly not required.
“Back home in Korea, I trained in Jiu Jitsu for about two years,” said Ha. “I wanted to be involved in some kind of martial arts club in SCAD, and I found that there’s none of them. I just decided to make it.”
Ha hopes that the club will be a place for competitive preparation as well as a positive social experience. The club meets on Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
“For me,” said Ha, “I want to go to a competition a lot, so someone that has really good skills in Jiu Jitsu is going to be really welcome, but just for enjoying that’s fine [too]. Some go and train Jiu Jitsu for competitions, some go and do Jiu Jitsu for healthcare to be more healthy people.”
No matter what your motivations to begin training Jiu Jitsu are, rest assured you are welcome to join. A “hey, what’s up” will be waiting for you at the door.
