Island residents are honing their Martial Arts skills during a week-long seminar. The summer program is organized by 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, an international group implementing the non-traditional system of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu developed by Eddie Bravo, and local MMA fighter and instructor, Martin Dawson. The free program taught valuable self-defense techniques to both children and women.
The summer program was held from Tuesday, August 15th to Friday August 18th at a training room on Barrier Reef Drive. Participants were encouraged to bring the whole family to take part in this once-in-a lifetime self-defense class led by Dawson and 10th Planet instructors Matt Salinas and Aaron Smith. “I hope that this seminar will give the people an understanding of the discipline of MMA. By taking these lessons, participants can get an idea of what MMA is, building self-confidence and learning self-defense techniques,” said Dawson.
The self-defense seminar is part of a larger summer program offered through the San Pedro Sports Committee’s sporting summer camp. The camp saw island children ages 5 to 12 taking part in activities such as football, softball, basketball, taekwondo and swimming.
10th Planet Jiu Jitsu has locations all over the world, with Belize being in the infant stages of adapting the system as an expansion of the art. If you missed the seminar and are interested in learning MMA, Dawson provides daily classes though his group Dawson Pit Fighters. He can be contacted at phone number 605-2110.
