Fight Your Way to Fitness

Jujitsu teaches that your opponent can be bigger, stronger, younger, more athletic and faster than you -- but most important, it teaches how to avoid hits from opponents.

Traditional punches and kicks won't work if your opponent grabs you, and boxing and karate aren't effective, either, if you are taken to the ground, Golden points out.

"As a middle-aged professional, I don't want to get hit, even once," says Golden, who lives in Orlando and trains at Gracie Barra Orlando. For him, Brazilian jujitsu offers the ideal method of self-defense.

Training and Technique

People who are more competitive train multiple times throughout the day, says Roderic Rosado, a personal trainer based in New York. The average practitioner finds a few times a week sufficient.

Brazilian jujitsu drills consist of submission and grabbling. Participants practice techniques in which the opponent is placed in a choke and held until he or she is forced to tap out, or submit. At this point, the fight is over.

There is no striking, punching or kicking. It's all about grappling, which refers to the gripping and handling of an opponent

Most people find that jujitsu spurs a highly developed sense of coordination and offers an excellent cardiovascular workout and resistance training -- especially the back and arm muscles -- Rosado says.

It's not a sport about ego or trying to outdo each other.

During jujitsu training, everyone is there as a team and works together to learn the different techniques; it's a very good learning environment, Rosado says.

Jujitsu technique teaches superior self-defense and how to be offensive.

It also shows how to leverage body weight to your advantage, even if an opponent outweighs you by 50 pounds.

If you have good technique and a solid base of training, you will most likely beat your opponent even if he is significantly heavier than you.

Further, the more experienced you become, the fewer moves you have to make to force your opponent to submit.

However, a jujitsu opponent will always be on the lookout for you to make one false move, which the opponent will then immediately capitalize on.

It's almost like a chess game -- it's all about strategy, Rosado explains.

Smart Moves

Below are some of the primary Brazilian jujitsu positions. You'll hear these referred to often at the beginning of training.

• Guard: The person who is the guard is on the bottom with his back on the ground; his legs are wrapped around his opponent's hips (who is said to be "in the guard").
• Side control: Fighters are chest-on-chest, but without the legs entangled.
• Mount: The person is sitting on an opponent's chest with one leg on either side of the opponent's torso.
• Back mount: The person is behind his opponent, with his feet hooked around his opponent's hips and upper thighs.

If you're interested in learning this ancient and effective art of self-defense, there are several Web sites, such as jiu-jitsu.net and American Ju-jitsu Association, that offer information on courses and certification as well as comprehensive listings of schools.

So this year, instead of staying on that treadmill you've been on for years, why not try jujitsu? You'll not only get in shape, but some of the moves you acquire just might save your life.

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