Gracie-Barra makes home in Marianas

After profiteering pugilists blew through the CNMI with their extreme form of fighting, a demand has steadily increased for a well-structured and professionally instructed school for the fighting arts. While several gyms have rolled out their welcome mats for their new crop of disciples, one has made the jump toward gaining international respectability by garnering a name known round the world in martial arts—Gracie-Barra.

Over the years, thousands of passionate grapplers have passed through the doors of the third floor facility with a new respect for the history and power of Jiu-Jitsu, as did local instructor Caesar Whitt.

Whitt got involved with the fighting arts years ago when he started taking an interest in Jiu-Jitsu training as a rehabilitation tool following a surgery in the early 1990s.

A couple of months ago, Whitt got the opportunity to go to the Mecca of Jiu-Jitsu when he was selected to attend an International Jiu-Jitsu Federation coaching seminar at the Gracie-Barra in Brazil, where he met world champion Marcio Feitosa, and trained with the martial arts masters.

Now those looking to study the teachings of the original masters of South America need no longer book a flight to the heart of Rio, as Whitt and his partners have opened the Gracie-Barra Marianas Academy in the heart of Susupe.

With the support of his friends and family, Whitt went from the operator of one of the newest schools on Saipan to running the premier school in the Pacific region.

The possibilities of the school’s success became evident with Feitosa’s recent visit with accomplished protégé Marco Joca to Saipan, as a crowd of young men descended upon the grounds of Saipan Southern High School to learn from one of the finest fighters hailing from the world famous school in Brazil.

“It’s a big thing for Saipan. We have Jiu-Jitsu and all kind of mixed Martial Arts on Guam, but nobody’s ever gotten this direct from Brazil. We put it together here because our hearts are bigger here, I think. The people are so willing to give of themselves. I’m really grateful for the people around me, they’re good people. It was a combination of a lot of things—me coming here [from Guam] and going to Brazil, but I don’t think that this could have happened without the support of the key people in our organization. They trusted me on an idea that I’ve had for years. Not to see it come to fruition—that’s pretty cool,” said Whitt.

Whitt said that Saipan should see an increase of students coming from off island to participate in one of the Gracie-Barra family of schools, and that he had a difficult time convincing people that Feitosa was actually making the trip to the CNMI.

“That’s what you’re going to see. Half the people from the seminar were from Guam. A lot of people flew in for this because they just couldn’t believe that [Marcio Feitosa] was here. At first they thought that it was just a rumor, but then they were calling me up. We posted it on the Internet on message boards. People couldn’t believe until the day that he arrived that he was coming.”

Whitt’s goal is not only to have people from off-island come to train, but for the people of the Marianas to enjoy a safe and clean atmosphere where they can better themselves through the study of the martial arts.

“Our place is a family-oriented dojo that is open to people of all ages and state of physical conditioning. We want to have a place where people won’t feel uncomfortable bringing their kids along,” said Whitt.

Once the word gets out, the possibility exists that people from around the Pacific Rim will scrimp and save to train on Saipan, but aside from the Gracie-Barra name, they will come to study one of the most popular forms of martial arts.

Feitosa explained that the lure of Jiu-Jitsu is that one’s size and strength is not the determining factor in the outcome of a physical confrontation, but rather the art is the thinking man’s method of self-defense.

“Jiu-Jitsu is something that everyone can take something from. You don’t need to have any certain skills. Everyone will take something from it. You don’t need to be strong, tall, heavy, nothing. It is a real intelligent self-defense system. The translation of Jiu-Jitsu is the gentle art. It is the only martial art where a physically weaker fighter can win against a stronger opponent,” he said.

Feitosa added that Jiu-Jitsu was designed for self-defense so that the average guy could defend himself from a stronger attacker.

“Self-defense doesn’t mean that he will defeat the opponent, but he will be able not to get hurt and to defend himself. All of the techniques were developed through leverage over muscle development. Only the techniques that are easy to be done, and then everyone can apply or add to the Jiu-Jitsu system.”

According to Feitosa, the origins of Jiu-Jitsu are still clouded in a fog of mystery, and that historians disagree about whether Japan or India is the true birthplace of the sport. Be that as it may, the home of the sport now rests in South America, and the newest nest of the best is located here in the Commonwealth.

For more information about Jiu-Jitsu in the CNMI or to enroll in the Gracie-Barra Marianas Academy, contact Whitt by calling 483-5836.