CEDAR CITY — The growing community of Brazilian jiujitsu martial artists in Southern Utah held what officials called a “breakthrough event” Saturday at Iron Springs Elementary School in Cedar City.

For the first time in the area, Impact BJJ Tournaments held the all-day exhibition for kids and adults, bringing together fans and practitioners of the sport from all around the state.

Four mats were set up for the competitions, which paired two martial artists against each other in a match.

Brazilian jiujitsu is a martial art form that is most often compared to judo or traditional wrestling, in the sense that bouts feature only grappling- no kicking or punching allowed.

Rounds are timed according to age and ability (belt level) of the fighters. Victory is earned by submitting your opponent- making them “tap out”- or by compiling the most points for technique.

Steve Eargle was one of the original innovators of the sport in Cedar City, starting Empire Mixed Martial Arts eight years ago.

“There’s been huge growth,” Eargle told Cedar City News next to the mats during competition. “When we first started I had the only gym here and now there’s three gyms and one on the way. This is the first tournament we’ve had in Southern Utah, so if this goes good, this could open a lot of doors.”

With Eargle’s help, husband and wife team Kevin Alvarez (known to his students as “Coach Mambo”) and Angelica Gonzalez formed the K.A.L.A. School of Brazilian jiujitsu in Cedar City and helped bring Saturday’s tournament to local fans.

Alvarez said the K.A.L.A. (the initials of family members Kevin, Angelica, Laura and Alex) school got its start after he worked with mixed martial arts fighters at Empire and then branched out to his own gym.

“Everything has just been a blessing,” Alvarez said. “We didn’t expect this to grow into so much.”

Alvarez said that police officers, ex-CIA members and local security personnel all train at K.A.L.A. along with kids, teenagers and adults.

“People from all over the community have just been supporting us, especially our friends from D&D Variety Store,” Alvarez said. “Those guys are blessings. They’re the main sponsors for our tournament here.”

Alvarez noted that most tournaments are in Salt Lake City or in Las Vegas, Nevada or in California.

“We wanted to establish something here in Cedar so that way it brings more for our community,” Alvarez said. “Most importantly, our Brazilian jiujitsu community grows. We just want us all to come together and have fun. Spread the love.”

“We have no main objective but to share and get together- that’s all we wanted,” Alvarez said.

Aaron Reis has taught at Fusion MMA and Jiujitsu St. George since 2000. A large contingent of the competitors in the tournament came from Fusion.

“It’s so nice to be able to drive just 40 minutes and compete,” Reis said, “especially for the new students and kids. This has been a really good event for them to learn and get to compete against other schools and test their skills.”

Gonzalez, who does most of the instruction for children at K.A.L.A. said that Brazilian jiujitsu teaches more than fighting skills. 

“I call it meditation in motion,” Gonzalez said. “You’ve got to breathe, you’ve got to have oxygen for your brain to be able to think when you are fighting.”

“We are modeling a fight, a real fight, but just controlled,” she added. “You need to be in a great state of mind, and for that you need breathing, you need meditation. You need to have good healthy habits in general.”

Gonzalez said that K.A.L.A. has seen a growing number of children and teenagers wanting to learn Brazilian jiujitsu.

“It is really fun, I try to keep it always fun for the kids,” she said. “But at the same time, know when it’s fun and games, and when we have to have discipline. We have to stop and get serious because we are modeling a real fight so we cannot just play around.” 

“Discipline for me is very important. Discipline with love, I call it,” Gonzalez added. 

Finn Christiansen, a 10-year-old from Cedar City, has been training at K.A.L.A. for two years. After winning a match at the tournament, he needed no time to answer why he likes Brazilian jiujitsu.

“You get to tackle and choke,” he said. “And if there’s time on Friday’s, you get to do games.”

Canyon View High School student Samantha Guevara also won her match at the tournament.

“K.A.L.A. has been incredible, I’m so honored to get to fight with them,” Guevara said. “Brazilian jiujitsu in general has helped my life so much. I think everyone should do it.”

She added that she got into the martial art form wanting to learn about self-defense.

“It’s helped me be more confident and not take so much crap from people,” Guevara said. “Just be stronger and so much more healthy. It’s just amazing.”

Cedar City resident Mario Calderon has a blue belt and trains at K.A.L.A.

“It helps me deal with frustration,” Calderon said. “I come in angry and work it all out and come out mellow. Jiujitsu is a way of life.”

Fans at the tournament were delighted by the appearance of Fabio Santos, who recently moved to New Harmony.

The 65-year-old Santos is referred to as a Professor of Brazilian jiujitsu. He holds a seventh-degree black belt, called a Coral Belt because its black and red colors resemble a coral snake.

Before moving to America in 1983, Santos trained in Brazil with the Gracie Family, the legendary creators of Brazilian jiujitsu.

Santos went on to open gyms in San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Tijuana, Mexico; and several other locations in the Southwest. 

“This is what I do, I go to tournaments and seminars and schools and try to improve their skills,” Santos said. “I really appreciate that there’s so many people in Southern Utah interested in Brazilian jiujitsu.”

“It’s in the process of growing,” he said, “and me being here I can really help the people get into it more effectively.”

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