Local dojo offers class from Brazilian fighter

Ever since the Fury Fighting Islands came to Tinian to perform their style of extreme fisticuffs, local fighter have been flocking to gyms and training rooms to hone their skills and to learn new techniques.

While most of these houses are geared toward taking ballers and scrappers to the next level, one recently opened with an emphasis on self-defense and discipline.

“Martial arts is for people from eight to 80—it’s for everybody. We are not focused on the professional fights. If people want to fight in a cage they can go to Purebred. Not everyone is going to be a fighter, but self-defense is for everyone,” said Caesar Whitt of the local dojo War Horse.

Don’t let the name fool you, as Whitt explained that War Horse was named after Bruno Dala Pozza because “If he’s alive, and his heart is beating, he’s gonna fight.”

War Horse is a family-oriented dojo that is open to people of al ages and state of physical conditioning. We want to have a place where people won’t feel uncomfortable bringing their kids along.

Whitt has been involved in the fighting arts for the batter part of the last 22 years, and started taking an interest in Jiu-Jitsu in the early 1990s when he used the training as a rehabilitation tool following a surgery.

After years of training, Whitt got the opportunity of a lifetime about two months ago when he was selected to a three-person delegation from Oceania to attend an International Jiu-Jitsu Federation coaching seminar at the Grace Barra in Brazil—what is widely regarded as the finest school for the combined martial arts in the world.

Whitt spent two weeks in South America where he learned that size was not the determining factor when one engages in a fight.

“I saw little 130-pound guys beating up guys who weighed over 200 lbs. You don’t need brute strength to win a fight,” said Whitt.

After learning from the best, Whitt invited Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling master Marcio Feitosa to visit Saipan and bring the teachings from the South American academy to the Northern Mariana Islands.

“I wanted to bring the highest level possible to the CNMI, and now he’s here,” he said.

Feitosa will hold his three-hour training sessions today and tomorrow from 4pm until 7pm in the cafeteria of Saipan Southern High School—two hours of which will be with the traditional Gi, and one hour without.

“This is the most important figure in Jiu-Jitsu to ever visit this part of the world, and we are lucky to have him here. Everyone is welcome to attend, regardless of their fighting style. One day we want to see people from the CNMI go to the Olympics and to the World Championships, and it will happen, but this is where it starts,” said Whitt.

The seminar is limited to 60 people, and the fee to learn from one of the world’s finest fighters is $100. For more information, or for directions to Saipan Southern High School, contact Whitt by calling 483-5836.