Martialing all their resources in Ogle County

MOUNT MORRIS — When most people think of life lessons, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to stay that the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t jiu jitsu.

But life and jiu jitsu have more in common than you might think.

Both have twists and turns that people have to grapple with, and both can be undermined by egos — it takes a deft determination to know when to submit and when to fight back. And at some point — whether it’s in life or jiu jitsu — you’ll find yourself asking: Is this worth going to the mat for?

Chris Nixon thinks they both are.

He’s the club owner and trainer at Ogle County Jiu Jitsu, where he helps students learn lessons on the mat, both in life and in the martial art he teaches.

Just don’t expect easy answers.

“Just like in life, you’re going to realize you can’t get it turned around in one move, you’re going to have to make four of five moves to get out of a bad position,” Nixon said. “You’re not going to be able to win the lottery and save your financial situation, sometimes you’re going to have to go four, five or six steps. I think for a lot of guys here, it teaches them patience and it strips you of your ego.”

Nixon emphasizes the mental benefits that jiu jitsu can bring to the students who come to his classes at the Mount Morris Coliseum on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings; and at the end of March, he expanded his class offerings to Monday night classes at Kinetic Grit CrossFit in Byron.

Nixon works one-on-one with students during the one-hour training sessions to help them improve their technique and mental balance, bringing his own talents to the martial art that blends ancient skills with modern techniques.

Jiu jitsu’s roots originated with Japanese judo, which has a history stretching back to the 1500s and incorporates technique from American catch-style wrestling of the late 1800s. It consists of grappling, ground fighting and the application of submission holds, all using principles of leverage, angles, pressure and timing. Jiu jitsu styles of today were perfected in Brazil in the early 20th century, and it became popular in the United States starting in the 1980s.

Jiu jitsu’s techniques favor smaller fighters, who can use leverage and weight distribution to their advantage against larger opponents; and it can be for anyone, man or woman, large or small, young or old, experienced or not — but there’s more to it than just learning techniques.

What’s important is the commitment to becoming a better person.

“There are two types of people who really benefit from jiu jitsu: there’s really aggressive guys, because they can learn to control their aggression, and under-aggressive or passive guys who learn that it is okay to be aggressive,” Nixon said. “They’ll go out and tangle with a guy and really exert themselves, but everyone’s going to high-five in the end and be all smiles, and we’re all going to be better off for it.”

Jiu jitsu competition is done in gi and no-gi styles. The gi (rhymes with “gee,” but with a hard g) is a more traditional martial arts uniform consisting of a heavy cotton jacket with a thick neckline, drawstring pants, and cotton belt. The loose-fitting garment can be used to opponents’ advantage, as it can be grabbed hold of and used to help execute moves. No-gi matches are done wearing tighter fitting uniforms, like shorts and a shirt, that opponents can’t use in the same way, making them rely more on body mechanics, balance and positioning to take down their opponents. Ogle County Jiu Jitsu is a no-gi club, but larger clubs do offer gi style.

Nixon, who grew up in Mount Morris, first learned about jiu jitsu in 2013 while living in Japan. He opened his hometown club in September 2021, inspired in part by people he met who were interested in jiu jitsu but couldn’t afford the costs or travel to larger cities to take classes. He decided to offer his expertise at a more affordable rate — $40 per month.

“This is something you only see in bigger cities like Rockford and Sterling, but to have something like this here is great,” Nixon said. “With jiu jitsu, you can go 100 percent as hard as you want and no one will get hurt. Imagine Muy Thai kickboxing or karate, you can go 100 percent hard and someone’s going to get knocked out. Here, you go 100 percent and no one will get hurt.”

Students come from many different backgrounds: former high school wrestlers getting back in shape, young children who want to boost their confidence, those who want to learn self-defense techniques, and undercover law enforcement who can use the skills in their job. Around 10 to 15 students gather on any training day, and new students are encouraged to join and learn about the sport.

Be warned, though: The first time you try it, be prepared for some humility.

Several of the club’s students have experienced the bitter taste of defeat, but learned what it took to rebound from it in a positive way.

Sid Barber of Byron is a student and coaches classes when Nixon is unavailable. Barber also grew up in Mount Morris and wrestled for Oregon High school as a teenager; he then moved to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where he learned about jiu jitsu seven years ago on a mission to improve himself. Now back closer to home, he trains up to five days a week, having come a long way from submitting to people he initially thought he could beat.

“I was getting super out of shape, not comfortable and was smoking cigarettes a lot, but I decided I wanted to do some workout,” Barber said. “I started lifting weights and running, but I found that to be boring. I met someone at the gym who told me about coming in to try a [jiu jitsu] class. I went there, and a 14-year-old boy beat the crap out of me, and a bunch of old guys and a girl all submitted me in the same day. I was like, ‘I could either quit right now, or I’m going to learn how to do it.’ So I came once or twice a week for a couple of years, and I’ve been doing it since.”

Dan Coutts of Dixon found out early on in his training that being humbled leads to being less hot-headed.

“When I first came here a couple of years ago, every single one in the room, no matter their size or skill level or whether they had only been in a couple of classes or more, whooped me,” Coutts said. “They weren’t non-friendly beatings, but they were enough to show me that I didn’t know anything, and I needed to learn some of this stuff.”

Nixon remembers moments like that when he was first learning jiu jitsu in Japan. He found that the sport reinforces an important lesson: that ultimately, you are responsible for what happens to you. Sometimes the lessons weren’t easy, and sometimes they were filled with introspection, but he persevered and a martial art he took up pass the time became a passion that carried him up through the ranks, to a purple belt, three belts below the highest belt, red.

“One of the guys that lived by me asked me if I wanted to come try this jiu jitsu thing, and there was a gym right down the street from me,” Nixon said. “I started training out there with a really good jiu jitsu practitioner who had just set me on the path. I was getting choked out by 140-pound 17-year-olds, which is a real wake-up call, because you’ll be walking in and thinking, ‘How bad can this be, right?’”

Julian Trainor, 13, of Byron is one of the youngest students at the club. He became interested in the sport in October and is learning how to apply its lessons in life. It’s also helping keep him in shape for when plays soccer for his local park district this spring.

“I like learning and knowing that if you do get surprise attacked, you’re not completely just done for,” Trainor said. “You can defend yourself. I’ve learned a bunch of moves, but I can apply it to my outside life, and I’ve been able to help my confidence improve but not get too confident.”

Some students, such as Barber, will participate in regional and national jiu jitsu competitions representing the club. Barber has even taken first place in some tournaments, and enjoys the challenge of competing; it also helps keep him engaged in the sport, he said.

“I enjoy doing a physical activity with a goal, and I feel like I have something to look forward to with competitions,” Barber said. “If I don’t sign up for them, it’s hard for me to stick around. If I always have something coming up, I have motivation to train and it keeps me healthy and in shape.”

There are many lessons to be learned from jiu jitsu, not the least of which is building the confidence students need to handle themselves in a tight situation. Just like Irish band Chumbawamba once said in their hit ‘90s song “Tumbthumping”: “I get knocked down. But I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.”

“If you’ve never cried after a jiu jitsu class, you’re probably not that into it,” Nixon said. “I remember getting smoked a couple of times in Japan after I thought I had some stuff going on, but then I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ Think about how many times that happens. The whole point is to get humbled, and then realize that you need to work harder. That happens everywhere, in any aspect of life.”

Ogle County Jiu Jitsu meets for classes at 5 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Saturday at the Mount Morris Coliseum, 26 S. Wesley Avenue; and at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Kinetic Grit CrossFit, 703 North Walnut St. in Byron. Classes are $40 per month. Find it on Facebook, email chriskylenixon@hotmail.com or call 815-440-3383 for more information.