The Jungle Gym

By Josmar Taveras

Bronx Journal Staff Writer

You’re pinned down on the ground with an attacker right on you, you turn your hip while pushing down his knee and cause him to lean into you while you flip out to get a side mount, go for his arm and pull an arm lock called the Americana. At last – you’re free and in control!

These martial arts moves are part of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) that focuses on position, control and escapes. At BJJ, students learn that smaller, weaker people can successfully defend themselves against bigger, stronger opponents by using leverage and proper techniques, most notably by applying joint-locks and choke holds to defeat the other person or escape from certain situations.

Bronx resident Justin Garcia is a BJJ coach and the owner of The Jungle Gym, a mixed martial arts site in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. Garcia says he wants to teach Bronx kids the art form to help them “beat the street.”

“Everyone that comes here is missing something in their life,” says the 35-year-old Garcia. “They are looking to fill that void. Sometimes it is in gaining confidence or doing something physical.”

Garcia started his first gym in 2002 and then expanded it five years later. He says he wanted to create an environment that he never had when he was growing up. Garcia describes his Bronx upbringing as rough. There were no positive mentors and even though his parents were supportive, they both worked full time.

Parents bring their kids to the gym hoping to steer them in the right direction, explains Darwin Cruz, father of Kenneth, 10. “Since joining the Jungle Gym, Kenneth has improved in school and has boosted his confidence level,” says Cruz. “The coaches have taught him it’s never okay to quit and I know he’ll be with the Jungle Gym for years to come.”

Garcia also teaches classes for younger students ranging in ages five and up.

“My whole quest is to help the next generation,” says Garcia. “I’m not the guy to help the 25-year-old drug dealer that thinks that society is out to get him. I’m not that guy to hold his hand. That’s someone else’s battle.”

Garcia acknowledged that BJJ can be a violent sport.

“We live in a reality where violence is a part of who we are. It’s a sport, it’s not just violence,” Garcia explains. “(But) there are rules, people train for it, and it’s regulated. There are professionals who are prepared at higher levels. I like watching a good BJJ match, the same as I like watching a good football game or a good boxing match.”

Since he started the business, he has trained 500 people in the art form. One young person who benefits from going to Garcia’s gym is 26-year-old Elliot Pacheco.

“I walked into the Jungle Gym at 280 pounds with a prediabetic condition.  Needless to say, I was overweight, lacked confidence, and was suffering from depression, “ Pacheco says. “The environment at the Jungle Gym fostered and environment of discipline and confidence.  After 14 months, I lost 100 pounds and I now have a set of skills that apply to all areas of my life.”

Pacheco adds, “Oh yeah, and I can fight, too!”

Garcia hopes that in 10 years, this martial arts form will continue to expand in the Bronx.

“BJJ is growing at an exponential rate, friends are telling their friends and so on,” Garcia says. It is the discipline, as much as the sport that draws them in, he says. “I don’t create fighters, I create martial artists. I have less than five percent of my students who compete in match and tournaments. So obviously they are here for something else. It’s usually the betterment of who they are.”