Sports clubs at Kingston University continue to be affected coronavirus restrictions as the third lockdown means normal activities still cannot take place.
Luckily for students who have an interest in Jiu-Jitsu, there is an alternative as classes are now being held via Zoom.
The new online classes are being run by regular coach Saed Jbr, who explained how the drills he will lead during the sessions will be beneficial.
“The Zoom sessions consist of general physical preparedness exercises and specific physical preparedness exercises that have dynamic transference to Jiu-Jitsu.
“I am a strength and conditioning coach as well a Jiu-Jitsu coach, so I know how to select exercises and program them for our specific needs. Jiu-Jitsu specific skills are practised using shadow fighting and on equipment,” he said.
Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art based around self-defence. In a usual lesson, there would be close contact exercises and drills but because of the ongoing pandemic, this isn’t possible.
Despite this, Jbr suggested that online training is still beneficial.
He said: “What we are not able to do at the moment is go live with a resisting partner, but hopefully the movement pattern the students are ingraining and the conditioning they are developing will stand them in good stead when they get back to face to face training.”
The club encourages anyone to take part, even if they have no previous experience of Jiu-Jitsu.
Jbr says that ability isn’t the most important thing about the sessions. “I have been teaching for over 30 years and what I enjoy most is seeing the students develop their physical and mental strength.”
The Zoom training sessions take place between 8-10 pm on Thursdays. Contact the club for more details.
Konstantinos Patas