Instructor shares Martial Arts experiences

Guethshina Altena // Asst. Sports Director

The University’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club first started in 2011 with two students: Ricky Semiglia and his friend Andrea.

“My friend Andrea and I just wanted to find a place to train on campus,” Semiglia said. “We had to get signatures of people who were interested, but we didn’t know it was going to become what it is today.”

Semiglia honored the founder of the club, Mitsuyo Maeda, and said the club was always needed even though we did not yet realize it. His passion for the sport, however, started a long time before college.

“When I was in high school, I used to train everyday after school, and I decided that I wanted to continue my career in college,” Semiglia said.

Semiglia said he does jiu jitsu both for fun and as a sport because he believes that the sports is psychological as much as it is physical.

“If you practice jiu jitsu correctly, you have to keep your mindset of the self-defense. You can’t train jiu jitsu and leave self-defense out of it,” Semiglia said.

Semiglia enjoys being part of the jiu jitsu club so much, he said, that he came back as an instructor after graduating in 2015. His prefered part, though, is the ambiance of being part of such a strong team of athletes, according to Semiglia.

“When you get a bunch of passionate people sharing, playing and spending time together like a family, [that] is my best experience being part of the jiu jitsu club.”

Semiglia, as the instructor encourages his students to train at least two times a week for competitions.

“The ultimate goal of jiu jitsu is to submit your opponent,” Semiglia said. “[It’s] making them ‘tap out’ due to strangulation or hyperextension of a joint where they can’t continue so they have to practically give up, which is a humbling experience.”

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