A street-smart workout that’s not for the meek

Jujitsu is not a sport for those who are easily embarrassed. I learned that the hard way -- when I was told to lie on my back and straddle my legs around the waist of talent manager David Weber, assuming jujitsu’s most basic fighting position.

What I was really fighting at that moment was the instinct to blush. But I put on my game face and quickly learned to choke Weber with his lapel and to force him into submission with an arm lock.

For those who groove to the notion of mat grappling with sweaty men, the Beverly Hills Jiu-Jitsu Club is a great place to get fit. Revenge fantasies aside, though, some women might feel uneasy manhandling strangers at intimate proximity, even if the purpose is to spar.

Jujitsu resembles wrestling more than karate, and I was the only woman in the mixed-level class of eight, a typical ratio.

“There’s a lot of contact, sometimes too much” for comfort, owner Marcus Vinicius acknowledged. The club holds an all-female class twice a week, but Vinicius encourages women to eventually push past any discomfort and move to a mixed class. “It’s important to train with the guys. They’re stronger and heavier.”

Jujitsu originated in India more than 4,000 years ago and was developed in Japan before settling into its current form in Brazil. With similarities to judo, karate, wrestling and street fighting, it’s a popular training method for professionals in mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting competitions.

As with many martial arts, jujitsu students are ranked using a belt system, starting with the white belt and advancing to blue, purple, brown and black belt for masters. Vinicius says it takes his students about a year of training before their first belt test, which requires proficiency in 60 techniques.

Jujitsu incorporates punches, kicks, strikes and takedowns, as well as self-defense against weapon attacks. But fighters spend most of their time on the ground, bodies intertwined and contorted like yogis on Red Bull. A match ends with one person’s submission, signaled by tapping the winner’s body or, in some cases, by passing out.

“I was fighting with a huge brown belt, and he put me in a choke,” said Weber, a blue belt. “I tried to fight it a couple seconds too long, and I found myself waking up from a cozy, deep sleep to a slap in the face.”

Even with a friendly, noncompetitive class environment, jujitsu is not for the meek. “It’s rough,” said white belt Jennifer Lyne, 33, who has been studying with her husband and a dozen other guys since January. “Sometimes we wake up covered in bruises.”

Lyne is frequently the only woman in her class, which “was a little weird at first, but you get over it,” she said. “When you’re sparring with a guy, you’re not thinking about anything except not getting choked. I fight as hard as I can.”

And occasionally, like a black widow, she overtakes her man. “It’s really exciting. You learn it’s not about size and strength. It’s a lot of technique, like playing chess using your body. You have to think ahead.”

On a recent Monday evening, students lined up and bowed to Vinicius, then began class with a 20-minute warmup of stretching and old-school calisthenics. Arching our backs, we twisted sideways and put our weight on one shoulder, turned somersaults, rolled forward and backward while straddling our legs and performed four sets of jumping jacks, sit-ups and push-ups.

Next, we broke into pairs to learn ground-fighting techniques. Weber, my partner, taught me how to “pass the guard,” or escape from between his legs, while he remained flat on his back. A fighter never wants to be “in the guard” of an opponent because it’s a vulnerable position that can easily lead to defeat.

“When you’re in the guard, it’s 100% their game,” Weber said. “When you pass the guard, it’s 100% your game.”

First, I learned to “open the guard” by digging my elbows into a pressure point on his inner thighs. From there, I mounted him from the side, pinning my head to his chest and cradling his head with my arm.

Once you mount someone, you can punch, choke or lock your foe’s joints in an arm bar. Performing a maneuver called the front lapel choke, I crossed my hands on top of Weber’s neck, grabbing deep inside his collar, and then pulled each of my fists forward toward the other, thumbs bending to wrists. This put extreme pressure on his neck, forcing him to tap out.

I also learned a key lock, which involved pinning his arm down with opposing points of pressure at the wrist and elbow, creating excruciating pain in his shoulder. Finally, for the triangle choke, I wrapped my legs around his neck and used his own arm to cut off his air supply.

After practicing these techniques, the guys broke into pairs and started grappling. I wasn’t ready to spar on my first day, so I watched as they faced off for 30 minutes.

An individual 1 1/2 -hour class costs $25 at the club, while an unlimited monthly pass is $170. Although I tend to favor more peaceful forms of fitness such as dance and rollerblading, it felt empowering to learn to defend against a sexual attack.

Vinicius doesn’t want beginners to walk away with a false sense of security, but he believes jujitsu’s emphasis on ground fighting, chokes and joint locks makes it the least artistic (“it doesn’t look good for the movies”) but most practical martial art in terms of self-defense.

That’s why LAPD officer Brian Calicchia, 29, started jujitsu training 10 months ago. “As a police officer, it behooves me to learn this because most fights wind up on the ground,” he said. At 5-foot-7, “I’m not the biggest guy in the world, but I know how to defend myself regardless of how big someone is or how much he weighs.”

It’s also a handy way to stay in shape. Calicchia runs, bikes and lifts weights at a gym, but jujitsu builds more total-body strength and endurance than any of his other workouts.

“People get gassed out on the mat,” he says. “When sparring, you’re working every single part of the body, muscles you never even knew existed. At times my muscles are so spent I have to wait a few minutes before driving home because I can’t even clutch the stick shift.”

Because I focused on honing technique, I wasn’t quite so wiped, but my lateral muscles were sore the next day from repeatedly choking my opponent. It’s not every day I can say that.

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For more information, contact the Beverly Hills Jiu-Jitsu Club at (310) 854-7664 or www.bhjjc.com. To find another club near you, go to www.bjj.org/academies.