3/20/08By Amanda Wozniak
Critic Staff
LSC’s newest club, Jiu-Jitsu, has already gained the interest of 23 members. The club was formed at the Feb. 6 house meeting where its constitution was passed. With house already underway in the budgeting process for the fall semester, the Jiu-Jitsu club is currently operating without a budget.
LSC student, John Shanks, is the founder of the club as well as an instructor. He decided to start the club when he learned his instructor was moving out of town. “It’s a good club to have at the school. There is a lot of interest in this type of sport right now,” Shanks said.
Shanks’ dedication to this combat sport is displayed during his four day a week practices lasting one and a half hours each. He is a white belt and has been studying under Adam Laclair who is a purple belt.
Due to the lack of funding Shanks is beginning to look towards the future. He is contemplating submitting a budget request to get new mats for his club members to practice on. “We’ll probably just finish up the semester using these,” Shanks said, referring to the old torn mats found in the bole gymnasium.
Shanks is planning to attend a week long grappling instructor course to improve his skills as an instructor for the club. His instructor at the course will be Roy Harris who is a fourth degree black belt.
He also hopes to hold a women’s self-defense seminar in the fall, provided he can get funding. The seminar would be instructed by Roy Dean (student of Harris’), and would be free to LSC students.
Myles Hacking, also a white belt who studied under Laclair is assisting with the instruction of practices. However, he finds it difficult to attend practices during the week due to his work schedule.
Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art/combat sport. The sport’s emphasis is on ground-grappling techniques. When sparring a person tries to gain a dominant position using joint-locks and choke holds in order to force their opponent into submission.
Just as in other martial arts, jiu-jitsu uses belt rankings to distinguish the level of technical knowledge a person has as well as their performance in sparring and competitions. The rankings are as follows: white, blue, purple, brown and black. When training recreationally one can expect to train for two years in each level before being promoted to the next belt. A back belt can take anywhere from 6-12 years of training to achieve.
The club meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for recreational classes instructed by Shanks. These practices focus on basic techniques needed to move up in belt rankings. Another class is held on Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This class focuses on takedown techniques needed for competitive fighting, instructed by both Shanks and Hacking.
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1 comment:
With all due respect to Mr. Gervais and the "Critic," I would like to correct a few errors and omissions that I believe grossly mis-represent myself, John, and Myles, in this article.
HISTORY: I first began looking at the creation of this club in 2003, however there was insufficient interest for a program at that time. John Shanks approached me this past winter about trying again, and proceeded to write the constitution, with my counsel. Ultimately, the strong response to the club was the final catalyst that in no small part prompted the timing of my "moving out of town," knowing there would be another individual who would continue teaching in the 14 year tradition of the LaClair Academy teaching methods. John literally began the process of starting this club months before I had decided to move!
RANKS: I find the ranks stated in the article to be very misleading. The article would imply to the casual reader that this club is being lead by a raw beginner, assisted by another raw beginner, who both learned under a relative beginner. Nothing could be further from the truth!! John Shanks and Myles Hacking have both trained under me for approximately two years each. They have learned primarily Submission Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, each having wins in large, multi-state competition matches. As part of the Team LaClair competition team, they have also been exposed to many elements of Aiki-Jujitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Karate, and Mixed Martial Arts, as well as many other martial art and self-defense principles.
John and Myles both hold the rank of Green Belt in Adaptive Combat Jiu Jitsu (aka Tekido-Ryu Aiki-Jiu Jitsu), and are Apprentice Instructor Candidates and experienced assistant instructors, as well. Additionally, they are both Blue-Belt Candidates (some schools would say they are 4-stripe white belts) in BRAZILIAN Jiu Jitsu. They should both receive promotion to the rank of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue belt by summer of 2008, as well as receiving their Blue belts in Adaptive Combat Jiu Jitsu by that same timeframe. (The sequence in that style goes White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black). It has been argued that a blue belt in either style is on par with the technical skill and overall knowledge of a new black belt in many styles of Karate or Taekwondo.
John will be undergoing the same Apprentice Grappling Instructor program that I did in 2002, under my primary instructor, Roy Harris. He will also be furthering his learning by undergoing my own instuctor-development program later this year.
Both John Shanks and Myles Hacking have been authorized to teach the LSC Jiu Jitsu Club with my permission, as Apprentice Instructor Candidates in Adaptive Combat Jiu Jitsu. Additionally, I will be in the area periodically to oversee their teaching, as well as to personally teach multiple seminars to the LSC Jiu Jitsu club. My goals are to insure quality standards are met, fine-tune student development, award rank promotions to those deserving students, and personally groom future members of my competition team for submission wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and mixed martial arts competitions.
Myself, I hold the following ranks and certifications: 5th Degree Black Belt/Master Instructor in Karate Combatives; 5th Degree Black Belt/Master Instructor in Adaptive Combat Jiu Jitsu (aka Tekido-Ryu Aiki-Jujitsu); Purple belt in BRAZILIAN Jiu Jitsu (I will be testing for my Brown belt later this year); Certified Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor; Certified Grappling Instructor; Level 2 Personal Defense Readiness Instructor; various training (formal and informal) in a total of over 16 martial arts and self-defense systems and styles; more than 15 years of teaching experience in self-defense and martial arts; more than 11 years coaching experience in grappling (submission wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) competition and mixed martial arts fighting.
The Team LaClair track record is well known across New England. We have a reputation as being a small but formidable group in any event we enter. Most recently, LSC Alumnus Aaron Fondry completely decimated his opponent in the “Burlington Brawl” mixed martial arts competition, using primarily a combination of wrestling takedowns and Jiu Jitsu to effect a “Tap-out” (it’s like crying “Uncle”) by his opponent. The LSC Jiu Jitsu club is very fortunate to have two very dedicated and successful members of my team, in John Shanks and Myles Hacking, to oversee and instruct this club. I will do whatever I can to assist them in their efforts.
Sincerely,
Adam LaClair
Owner/Chief Instructor, LaClair Academy of Mixed Martial Arts
P.S. More information can be found on my website, www.adamlaclair.com
Questions may be directed to info@adamlaclair.com
Information about MY current and primary instructors can be found at the following websites:
www.jiujitsudebrazil.com (Joe Moreira)
www.royharris.com
www.tonyblauer.com
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