According to various sources, the growth of Brazilian jiu jitsu has spilled into the world of traditional wrestling, which allows students a means of grappling during the off season. As an example, a BJJ and MMA (mixed martial arts) school, Team Remedy, had a member, Leland Knoch, recently win in his weight class at the 2015 Gulf Breeze High School Wrestling Invitational Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. While Pace wrestling Coach Dan Mabry said he doesn’t stop his wrestlers from studying jiu jitsu, he cautions them on which techniques to bring to the mat.
As a proud teacher would, Team Remedy Coach Tra Alidor shared his blue belt student’s success on Facebook with so far 52 others “liking” the post. Alidor also noted in an interview he has a MiltonHigh School student, Eric Simmons, who also is doing well.
Alidor said the two disciplines have enough in common they blend well. Wrestlers who come to his school, he said, do well. However, he noted, “There are things in both that we don't want to use in the other.”
Mabry echoed the same. Jiu jitsu, he said, allows players to fight from their back, which is an immediate end of match in wrestling. He said he’s had a student or two lose a match this very way. With the wrestling set position, though, Mabry noted one naturally gives up the back and leaves a fighter open for choke holds on the jiu jitsu mat.
Knoch has been able to correctly draw from these weapons in his matches, though he did not say his jiu jitsu training gave him a particularly large leg up. He won the championship match by only a point. He did say while training in both sports, he’s found success against other wrestlers who have been training since seventh and eighth grade. “I don't have same technique as they do but the experience from jiu jitsu trades over pretty well.”
Another benefit he found is avoiding burnout by learning another style. “It’s kind of a break but same time a dif perspective.” However, he said, “I still think if you want to be better at wrestling, do wrestling, but coming from jiu jitsu helps as well.”
Knoch downplayed his own success as well being quick to note other members on his team experienced success in their own weight classes in the tournament. The team overall placed second.
Mabry said 7 of his 15 wrestlers in the tourney placed in the top four with Anthony Krevatas (25 and 4 record) going undefeated, in addition to Knoch. He added Travis Thompson, with a 23 and 7 record, who placed second at the same tournament, also studies jiu jitsu.
Krevatas, Mabry said, also won the Capital City Classic in Tallahassee where 26 teams attended. There, he was named outstanding wrestler as voted by the coaches.
These young wrestlers could find a future in MMA. Mabry said most of the current UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and MMA fighters come from a traditional wrestling background. “A lot of guys not (working toward) the Olympics go UFC. They’re used to training and cutting weight.”
As to Knoch’s future, he said he’s not as interested in MMA as he was in his youth, though he’d like to earn his BJJ black belt. He also may try to earn a scholarship with collegiate wrestling, though the PaceBiotechAcademy student said he wants to focus on the medical or science fields.
As martial arts grows in Santa RosaCounty, Alidor said he’s up to 25 students now and looking at a six-month wait to get into a new gym. “I let all wrestlers from all schools come wrestle for free at my gym in the offseason. Leland's father runs a wrestling class in the offseason and I let them wrestle for free.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Successful Pace wrestling student trains at BJJ