T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — New business owner Rick Glenn will soon open the doors to Zura Jiu Jitsu in downtown Marshalltown at 104 E. Linn St. The gym is located in the Black Iron Barbell building, and Glenn’s goal is to open in the beginning of September.

Something new is coming to Marshalltown.

Rick Glenn, the 2014 World Series of Fighting featherweight champion and a Marshalltown native, is opening Zura Jiu Jitsu at 104 E. Linn St. The business will fulfill a long-held dream of bringing the sport to his hometown.

“I always had the thought in my head to open an academy in my hometown,” he said. “I started fighting in 2006 and thought it would be cool to have an academy and coach someday. It’s something I really enjoy and I want to share it.”

Glenn is optimistic for his gym and said it would certainly benefit law enforcement.

“If I can get some police officers in here, that would be great,” he said. “I bet they’d enjoy it. There’s a lot of police officers I have trained over the years who do jiu jitsu. Any martial art you are trained in, you are going to be more comfortable when you come in contact with someone who is violent or resisting.”

Glenn chose to use Zura for his gym name because he wanted it to mean something. He also wanted to get away from his UFC nickname, “The Gladiator.”

“I wanted something unique,” Glenn said.

Marshalltown is also a good venue for the gym because there is a lot of talent for combat sports in the area, he said. Fighters and boxers from Marshall County and Tama appear in many scheduled fight events.

“They just train in their garage, or they have to travel,” Glenn said. “I had to travel to Cedar Rapids or Des Moines to get my training in. Anyone who wants to do jiu jitsu, whether they are someone who wants to compete or learn self defense, the closest place for Marshalltown is Ankeny and Ames.”

By opening Zura, he hopes to attract students to Marshalltown from other communities and surrounding counties.

The mental and physical benefits of jiu jitsu

The popularity of jiu jitsu took off when Brazilian UFC fighter Royce Gracie appeared on the scene. Glenn said Gracie “dominated” many of the other UFC champions with his techniques. Gracie retired with 15 UFC wins, three draws and two losses under his belt.

There are a lot of body mechanics in the martial art, and he hopes to implement classes focusing on that aspect. Glenn said jiu jitsu is a combination of submission grappling and holds and wrestling, pins and lever points and described it as “feet to floor martial arts without the strikes.”

“It’s a gentle art,” he said. “It’s like judo. There’s throws, takedowns and submissions in judo, but in jiu jitsu, you can start on the ground or on your feet. All [mixed martial arts] fighters have to train in jiu jitsu.”

During an extensive career in martial arts, Glenn has seen small women utilize jiu jitsu to take down “giants,” men twice his size.

“With jiu jitsu, it’s not about strength and power. It’s technique and leverage, which can help [a person] control someone,” he said.

Based on his own experience, some of the primary benefits Zura students will receive will be mental, Glenn said. Focusing on the sport will help relieve a person’s mind from everyday stresses. Plus, he said jiu jitsu is great for increasing confidence.

“Your daily troubles don’t seem as big of a deal,” Glenn said. “You can problem solve better. You have more of a clear mind. I [try to] avoid conflict. If someone is trying to poke at me or say disrespectful stuff to me, it’s not that big of a deal.”

He said it can even help with communication. During his UFC career, Glenn has met and trained with people from all walks of life — different countries, different religions, different languages. Even though there were language barriers, they understood each other through jiu jitsu.

Just as there are mental benefits, there are also challenges. Glenn said one of the biggest hurdles students might face is checking their egos.

“It’s been one of the most humbling things I have ever done,” he said, laughing. “Especially people just starting out. If there is someone much smaller than you, you might think you can control that person. Then they put on submission holds and do some slick stuff and throw you around and you don’t know what’s going on.”

During the first six months to one year, Glenn will accept students who are ages 15 and older. The schedule is not official yet, but he would like to start each day with a fundamentals class, followed by an open mat session in which students will participate in grappling. Eventually, Glenn hopes to add kids classes for children who are at least 6 years old.

He will charge students $100 per month and walk-ins for $20.

Zura

Even though his UFC career has given him the opportunity to become friends with numerous people and taken him across the country and the world, Glenn plans on retiring from mixed martial arts. His goal, if everything goes right, is to open Zura’s doors on Sept. 2 after his final UFC bout in Perth, Australia in the UFC 305 event. Glenn will face Song “The Assassin” Kenan from China on Aug. 17.

Afterward, he would like to have a grand opening at Zura, but does not have any firm plans in place. Glenn has thought about bringing in some food trucks for the event.

“I’d like to make a party of it — do a class, maybe hang out and barbecue,” he said.

Since Glenn is also an independent contractor, Zura will begin as a part-time venture for him. He said it would be nice for the gym to eventually be his full-time gig.

With the downtown location in the same building as Black Iron Barbell, Glenn said some Emerson employees have already inquired about noon classes. That would require him to hire one more coach, which is something Glenn would also like to see happen.

“I’d like to add another coach. I just have to build it,” he said.

While he waits for Zura to officially open, Glenn is doing interior work to prepare the space for students and practitioners of jiu jitsu. Mats need to be placed, floors need to be cleaned and waxed, changing rooms and a shower need to be installed.

“This is nice,” Glenn said. “I’m excited. Marshalltown has never had any formal jiu jitsu academy.”

BUSINESS INFORMATION:

Name: Zura Jiu Jitsu

Address: 104 E. Linn St.

Hours of operation: 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday

Website: zurajiujitsu.com

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.