LOCAL
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Morizi Jiu-Jitsu teaches Hermiston to play “human chess”
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
S
mall towns can sometimes
attract big talent, and Brian
Morizi fi ts the bill.
Morizi studied Brazilian Jiu-
Jitsu under Clark Gracie, grandson
of the discipline’s creator, and was
the fi rst person to receive a black
belt from him. His long list of titles
include NoGi World Champion for
the International Brazilian Jiu-
Jitsu Federation, three-time Amer-
ican National Champion, fi ve-time
American National NoGi Cham-
pion and three-time medalist at
the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu
Championships in Abu Dhabi.
He opened Morizi Jiu-Jitsu in
Hermiston two weeks ago at 80872
N. Highway 395 and already has
so many students he is looking at
expanding his current offering of
four kids classes and four adult
classes per week.
“He’s one of the most technical
fi ghters in the world,” said Allison
Robins, a purple belt who gradu-
ated from top-ranked Gracie South
Bay Academy. She acts as Morizi’s
sparring partner during demonstra-
tions and helps work with students.
She
called
Hermiston
“extremely lucky” to have him.
Robins convinced Morizi to open
shop in Hermiston when she
decided to move back there to be
closer to family.
On Wednesday night as the
children’s class drew to a close,
10 children were busy grappling in
pairs on a large gray mat ringed by
shoes and water bottles. The stu-
dents — four girls and six boys
in loose uniforms known as gis
— were practicing how to get out
from under an attacker pinning
them to the mat.
“Get that knee up,” Morizi told
students as he circled the mat cor-
recting students’ technique. “Hold
that leg.”
Afterward he told them that as
some of them began entering com-
petitions, the important thing was
that they improved.
“I don’t care if you won or lost,
I care if you tried your best, if
you’re getting better,” he said.
During the adult class that fol-
lowed, 21 men and women ran
through drills for falling and roll-
ing before pairing off and practic-
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Instructor Brain Morizi, center, watches as students practice escape techniques they learned in class on Thursday
at Morizi Jiu-Jitsu in Hermiston.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Students Jada Longoria, 12, of Umatilla, and Zane
Vogt, 13, of Hermiston, practice a hip escape technique
Thursday at Morizi Jiu-Jitsu in Hermiston.
Students watch as instructors Brian Morizi and Allison
Robins demonstrate a bridge escape on Thursday at
Morizi Jiu-Jitzu in Hermiston.
ing specifi c moves. The students
tended to gravitate toward part-
ners roughly their same size and
weight, but one of the strengths
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — some-
times described as “human chess”
— is that it teaches adherents to
use larger and stronger opponents’
weight against them.
For that reason Morizi said it’s
a great self-defense discipline, par-
ticularly for women and children.
There isn’t punching or kicking
involved. The focus is on leverage
and technique, not brute force.
“It’s minimum force for maxi-
mum effect,” he said. “The small-
est person can go as far as they
want to.”
That doesn’t mean it’s not hard
work. During Wednesday’s adult
class sweat was pouring off of stu-
dents by the end of the hourlong
class and the windows to the out-
side had fogged up. Both Morizi
and Robins said one of the great
benefi ts to the sport is that peo-
ple don’t realize how hard they’re
exercising and how many differ-
ent muscles they’re working out,
because they’re having fun and
focused on outmaneuvering their
opponent. Morizi said he lost 40
pounds when he started Jiu-Jitsu.
He said it’s also a great fi rst
sport for children, as it teaches
them everything from how to fall
without getting hurt to being able
to gracefully handle losing to an
opponent that has pinned them into
submission.
“We have a lot of kids with
really serious wrestling back-
grounds that have come in,” he
said.
Robins, who has a professional
background in pediatrics and
physical therapy, said she is pay-
ing close attention to make sure
students stay safe while practic-
ing. She said it was an interesting
experience starting a new school
because almost all of the students
are at the same beginner level.
Aracely Urenda, one of
Morizi’s adult students, said she
joined his Jiu-Jitsu school because
she wanted to learn self-defense
skills.
“(Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) was made
by a guy who weighed 95 pounds,”
she said. “He made it for people
who are weaker to take down big-
ger people. I think that’s good for a
lot of women to know.”
She said she had enjoyed her
fi rst two weeks of class and appre-
ciated the exercise.
More than half of Morizi’s cur-
rent class of adults are men. Jer-
emy Harris, another student, said
Hermiston was “very blessed” to
have Morizi. He said the open-
ing of the Jiu-Jitsu school fi t well
into Hermiston’s strong wrestling
history.
Morizi and Robins said beyond
the physical benefi ts, Jiu-Jitsu is
also a great confi dence builder and
social outlet. It’s hard to be shy
around people you’re getting up
close and personal with on the mat.
Morizi said many of his students
told him they had been Googling
“Hermiston Jiu-Jitsu” every few
months in the hopes of fi nding a
school opening near them. When
he decided to come to Hermis-
ton he had set a goal of at least 30
pre-registrations before opening,
but after a little over a week ended
up with almost 100 sign-ups.
Instead of paying on a per-class
basis, Morizi Jiu-Jitsu students
pay a fl at fee to come to as many
classes as they want per week.
Currently classes are offered Mon-
day through Thursday evenings,
but Morizi plans to add more day-
time and weekend classes.
He asks any interested students
to try out one class for free before
joining, to know what they’re get-
ting into. They just need to come
early dressed in workout clothes
and sign a waiver.
For more information visit
morizijiujitsu.com
or
call
858-692-1468.
Columbia River Health closing Umatilla pharmacy
By JADE MCDOWELL
Less than a year after
purchasing Carlson’s Uma-
tilla Drug, Columbia River
Health is closing the phar-
macy on April 30.
The organization hosted
a celebration of the newly
renamed Columbia River
Pharmacy in November, but
on April 4 announced on
Facebook that it would be
closing the pharmacy “due
to circumstances beyond
our control” that made it
“no longer feasible for us to
operate a second pharmacy.”
“This has been a heart
wrenching decision that
has not come easily,” they
wrote. “We care deeply for
all of our patrons and recog-
nize how this decision will
affect each of them.”
The
Boardman-based
health provider also thanked
Cathy Putnam, who had
previously owned the phar-
macy and had stayed on to
work as a pharmacist, and
stated that they would help
customers move their pre-
scriptions elsewhere.
Columbia River Health
did not return phone calls
or an email requesting more
information about the clo-
sure. They had previously
announced plans to build a
new clinic in Umatilla and
eventually move the phar-
macy into that building but
have not announced whether
the closing of the pharmacy
will have an impact on the
plans for the clinic.
Several
customers
responded to the Facebook
post by expressing their
sadness at the news. Uma-
tilla mayor Mary Dedrick
wrote that the closure was a
“huge mistake” on Colum-
bia River Health’s part after
the community had trusted
them.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Cathy Putnam, behind the cash register, helps customers
with their prescriptions in October of 2018 at Columbia River
Pharmacy in Umatilla.
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