Masters to teach seminars

Athletes and students at any level can benefit immensely when they are taught by the best, and the IU Jujitsu Club tries to give its members that opportunity.\n"Twice a year the kids get a chance to learn from a 10th-degree black belt and a ninth-degree black belt," IU Jujitsu Club instructor and second-degree black belt Marc Guyer said. "In December our grand master comes from New York, and we do the same thing in April with our sister club in Notre Dame."\nBetween 40 and 50 students usually attend each seminar to learn from the masters.\nMembers learn skills at the seminars and get the chance to earn higher belt degrees, said senior Paul Chamberlin. He has earned a brown belt in his two years with the club and has attended each seminar. \n"They teach you self-defense techniques and afterwards, we have testing to advance belts," Chamberlin said. "They can test you anytime, but that's the time that all the senseis are together so everyone pretty much does."\nDuring the school year, practice is held four days a week, although not everyone is expected to attend every practice. The scheduling of practice is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate members' schedules. \nGuyer teaches the club both Jujitsu and Tae Kwon Do, which entails less close fighting than Jujitsu. He explained that Jujitsu is not a sport like some martial arts in which people compete.\n"We use striking, unlike Judo which uses throws. And also, Judo is a sport," Guyer said. "(Jujitsu is) very similar to certain martial arts, and in fact, other martial arts have developed that are based on Jujitsu."\nWhile he admits that many people may not have a specific use for these arts in day-to-day life, he teaches important values through martial arts.\n"What I personally try to do is to build a sense of self," Guyer said. "It's a self-confidence builder. It's also good for your body. We do things with our body that no one normally does in real life, but also we work on things that are useful in real life like balance, and also it's just good exercise. It's good for the body."\nBloomington resident Aric Gibson, who has been a member for two-and-a-half years and has a purple belt, said he has been able to use the skills taught in Jujitsu and Tae Kwon Do in real life situations.\n"It's very practical," Gibson said. "I worked for four years at clubs in town, and I started working security, and I learned many things to keep safe from others like shoulder yanks or joint locks. You really learn good self-defense techniques."\nGibson said he also enjoys Jujitsu because it encompasses a variety of moves, including strikes, kicks and throws.\n"It's fairly inclusive," Gibson said. "We try not to limit ourselves to one way of looking at things. I like being able to come up with various ways to do things"