Push or pull?

LOS ANGELES — If someone pushes you, do you push back? Or do you pull?

The instinct will be to push back. But smart fighters will opt to pull. This will make the opponent come to you twice as fast. And if you disappear, get out of the way, he’ll fall down.

"That is winning by giving way," Ken Bone, 42, of New Breed Academy said, summarizing the concepts behind Brazilian jiu-jitsu. "There will always be somebody better, stronger, taller, bigger than you. But the brain can develop a way to figure out how to overcome opponent and subdue without power or strength."

New Breed is a jiu-jitsu dojo that started in Santa Fe Springs, California. It is only one of the many jiu-jitsu camps in Southern California, the place considered by many as the Mecca of jiu-jitsu in the United States. But what makes the two—year—old academy special is that it was founded by two partners brought together by their love for the martial art. And one of them is Filipino.

Jiu-jitsu Coach John Veloso Ouano was born and raised in Cebu, Philippines. His family moved to the States when he was 17 and it was also during this time when he discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu through his brother-in-law who was a student of Royce Gracie. Ouano became the very first student of Carlson Gracie in the United States. Both Royce and Carlson are part of the big Gracie family who developed jiu-jitsu in Brazil.

Ouano said that experience taught him how to train hard and at the same time have fun. He went on to become the second Filipino black belt in jiu-jitsu. The first one was Bob Bass, a Filipino-American who went to school in the South Bay. Bass trained in Hermosa Beach, California under the Machados, cousins of the Gracies.

"Filipinos are very talented," 40-year-old Ouano said. "And we’re determined. We don’t take no for an answer. We train really hard."

Ounao also cited some Filipinos who excel in the sport and have slowly made a name for themselves, earning respect from the jiu-jitsu community: Javier "Showtime" Vazquez who will be representing the US in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club North American Trials, the world championships of submission grappling, in April; and John Ramirez who beat Rickson Gracie’s son, Rockson.

When Ouano put up New Breed with Colombian partner John Ramirez, his goal was to train. He revealed that he’s done with competing. He has two bad knees that are already retired but his love for the sport, coupled with his love for teaching are pushing him to coach young athletes.

"I don’t make money out of this. I do it for the fun of it. Jiu-jitsu is just my hobby," he said.

One of his students, Myles Vives of the Vives brothers, brought New Breed Academy to the Philippines, where there are now three New Breed locations: Pasig City, Quezon City and one at the Moro Lorenzo Gym in Ateneo.

"We actually started with the Carlson Gracie group. But New Breed is kind of like our family base now. And we carry the flag of Carlson Gracie," said Vives, 26, another pride of the Philippines where the sport is concerned. He has won the North American Grappling Association Tournament two years in a row.

Recently, Bone, the Vives borthers and jiu-jitsu athlete TJ Sulit flew to America to compete in the 2005 Pan-American Jiu-jitsu Championship, the second largest jiu-jitsu meet in the US. The event took place on April 2 and 3 at the lobby gym of the California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California.

"This is my very first competition. If you told me six months ago that I would be competing in a jiu-jitsu meet, I would have laughed at you," said Sulit, 26, a second degree black belt in judo.

Sulit admitted that although he had 15 years of judo experience to back him up, he was still overwhelmed by the experience of going through jiu-jitsu training. He started in 2001 when he was offered to learn jiu-jitsu in exchange for his services to teach judo at the Vives’ Manimal Jiu-jitsu Academy which would later become New Breed.

"I consider judo and jiu-jitsu as two sides of the same coin," he said. Judo is all about the take down, the throw. It’s about getting your opponent’s feet off the ground to pin his back on the mat. Jiu-jitsu is about how to finish him off on the ground."

"It’s the only sport that is what it is. There’s no BS behind it," said Ramirez, Ouano’s partner. "You go as far as your body allows you to. During a match, you can try as hard as you could and you have the ability to tap out before you get endangered."

Safe? Hardly how I felt as I watch people use moves called "hand bar" or "choke hold" to force their opponents into submission. If one doesn’t tap out early enough, he can pass out. At the sidelines, athletes walk around looking like aliens because of cauliflower ears. And I was told that it hurts worse than it looks. Still, a lot are hooked on jiu-jitsu.

"It’s (jiu-jitsu) very good exercise, very good for body and mind, very good for total health," Carlson said in broken English. The athlete who comes from the lineage of Brazilian jiu-jitsu came out to watch the people who trained under his discipline, including the New Breed athletes.

Unfortunately, Sulit was eliminated early in the competition.

"Right now it’s still in its infancy so we can’t say that they’re going to do outrageously well when they go abroad. But it’s picking much better than expected," said Vives. His brother, Mike, has won the Pan-American Championships and has placed in the Pan-American Championships three years in a row. But although he won the gold medal last year, he failed to beat his opponent this year.

Nonetheless, everyone in the team agrees that the experience was worth the trip. They got some exposure for Filipinos in the international jiu-jitsu community; and they earned valuable learning they could share with jiu-jitsu enthusiasts when they go back to their camp in Manila.

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Thank you to Toby Reyes for his assistance.

To reach this writer, log on to www.jannelleso.net.