Ladies Free Self Defense

In a city where crime has been an ongoing battle, one local jujitsu gym has decided to offer women of all ages a chance to learn self- defense at absolutely no cost. “Training for competitions is always an option, but first and foremost we teach self-defense. It’s what we emphasize,” said Ernest Mello, Head Instructor.

According to Mello, every participant has a different level of participation. Some ladies have experience while others have little to none. “We don’t do a bunch of punching-like in Mixed Martial Arts. Anyone can train jujitsu every day,” said Mello.

The black belt jujitsu instructor said that he wanted to offer free classes to women, because he wanted his wife to train so that she could defend herself if need be. I figured the best way to get her to train was to get other women to train as well,” said Mello. It is the head instructor’s goal to eventually have a fully independent program taught by women for women.

Women’s classes are held every Monday and Wednesday at 6:00PM and every Saturday at 10AM. Each class lasts roughly one hour long. No gi (uniform) is required to train although it can be purchased through the gym for a fee.

The Ronin jujitsu gym was created in 2008 with five gentlemen who needed a place of their own to train. The gym currently offers adult, women’s and children’s classes throughout the week. The Ronin gym is proud to have a number of gym participants at various levels who have competed and placed in recognized world jujitsu competitions.