Jiu-jitsu latest rage at Blacklist

A joint-lock submission and chokehold may sound like moves that belong in a World Wrestling Entertainment ring, but instead they are the backbone of a form of martial arts gaining interest in the Tri-parishes.

When Derrick Breaux and Gabe Barahona opened Blacklist Jiu-Jitsu of Houma in July, they weren’t sure what the response would be.

After all, there are only two schools that teach the combat sport exclusively. Both are Blacklist sites owned by Breaux and Barahona.

The duo opened their first location in Lockport three years ago. Based on the sport’s popularity, they decided to open in Houma to expand business.

The expansion has paid off so far; enrollment is on the incline.

Jiu-jitsu is a Brazilian form of martial arts that uses a variety of locks, holds, grabs and submissions between competitors in an attempt to score pins or get the opponent to submit.

Jiu-Jitsu promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend himself against a bigger, stronger assailant.

Because of that, It’s an effective form of self-defense, according to Barahona.

“It’s one of the more practical forms or martial arts,” he said. “Jiu-jitsu uses a lot of locks and submission holds. It can get someone out of trouble or danger. They don’t need to be proficient at it, but it is useful as a self-defense tool.”

Unlike traditional martial arts such as karate, tae-kwon-do or others, jiu-jitsu uses a more hands-on approach, especially during competitions.

“It’s a matter of staying in shape and understanding the competition,” Barahona explained. “It’s important to make sure you can go the entire match and pick up as many points as you need. In martial arts, the point scoring is more traditional and fitness isn’t as big of a part because you’ll still get points.”

Jiu-jitsu is quite competitive. In fact, federations across the nation hold annual competitions throughout the year.

Louisiana has roughly a dozen competitions.

Depending on the division, competitors are given a certain time limit during which they can score points by making their opponent submit or by pinning them to the mat.

Barohona competes at the national and world level. He recently missed the American Nationals because of the hurricanes, but that hasn’t slowed him any. He continues to arrive each day at Blacklist to teach the art of jiu-jitsu to all who are willing to try.

In the three years he’s been teaching, Barohona said the most common misconception – and his first lesson – involves the number of chokeholds available to competitors.

“When I first joined I thought there were only 10 submissions and their weren’t many more that that,” he recalled. “I was quickly educated that it’s not a matter of how many submissions there are but a matter of how many sets are there. You can take one submission, and get to it three different ways … like an arm bar or a leg lock.”

He added, “There are an endless variety of submissions or chokeholds.”

Barohona knows locals may know little about the sport, but that’s where the idea for Blacklist was derived.

“We have guys who have been with us for a while and who came in and just loved the idea of having a school open,” he said. “Our kids’ program is also a big hit in the area and our adult program has grown. There are a lot of people who hop right into it even they don’t quite understand it initially. We offer a variety of classes so they don’t have to be with the experienced guys. They can learn at their own pace. If they want to take the training up a notch, it’s there.”

Classes are available in several age ranges: 4 to 6 years old; 6 to 12 years old; 12 to 15 years old and 15-and-over.

Barahona stressed that parents of younger kids don’t have to worry about their children working with the older crowd. Instead, they will be with their respective age groups.

With the Lockport location undergoing repairs caused by Hurricane Gustav, all operations have moved to the Houma location.

All Blacklist enrollees are welcome at the Houma site until work at the Lockport site is completed.

“We are definitely going to reopen at that location,” he said. “We had great success with it. Our students are begging for it to come back.”

“We really want to thank the area with the way they responded to us,” Barahona added. “We grew up in Houma and it’s great to be able to do this for the area.”

Nathan Fournier and Ben Labat practice jiu-jitsu holds at Blacklist of Houma on Coporate Drive. Blacklist opened its Houma location opened in July and has seen an increased interest from people in the area. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER