A former police officer and soldier, American Chet Quint is as close as Beijing will get to its very own G.I. Joe. After 2,500 hours on the mat and a year of full-time training in Brazil under Gracie Jiu-Jitsu master Rilion Gracie,Quint earned a coveted jujitsu black belt, bringing his black belt total to five. Quint started his martial arts training at the tender age of 13; at 17 he became a taekwondo teacher. He now teaches jujitsu to kids as young as 4. “Anyone can do it, big or small,” says Quint. He answered questions from the Grade 5 class at the International Academy of Beijing and revealed why jujitsu defense is better than kung fu fighting. Imogen Kandel
Tiffany Goh, 11, Singaporean
How did you get into jujitsu as a career?
At first I just wanted to learn jujitsu for fun. I used to be a cop, and I thought it would be helpful for my job. After a while, I’d been doing it for so long I decided I should be a jujitsu teacher.
Hannah Hallett, 11, Canadian
Have you ever used your jujitsu on somebody outside a class? I used it when I was a soldier and a police officer, but I’m too old for fights.
Michael Lo, 10, Canadian
Do you know other martial arts? My first martial art was taekwondo – I studied it for five years, then moved on to karate, judo, and wushu.
Dianne Cayetano, 11, Filipino
Which one is your favorite
martial art? They’re all very good but jujitsu has a soft place in my heart. Of all the martial arts I’ve studied, it’s the most effective. I can defend myself without having to hurt the other guy.
Tiffany Goh, 11, Singaporean
Are you a nice guy in a fight? I’m 42; I don’t get into fights. I spend more time with my friends talking about our kids. You can even ask my wife.
Judy Wen, 12, American
Have you ever been injured? Yeah – a lot. But only in training, never in a fight.
Tiffany Goh, 11, Singaporean
Did you ever go to hospital
because of a jujitsu injury? No, I’ve never needed to go to hospital, but I’ve seen students get hurt trying to do rolls and jumps. I’ve seen a kid break their collarbone – that was pretty bad.
Paul Bae, 11, Korean
Have you ever competed in
competitions before? Well, every class we have an open mat, which is kind of like a competition. We can spar with each other and practice what we’ve learned in class.
Isaac Kim, 12, Korean
Have you ever beaten your teacher? To this day I have never, ever beaten my teacher. I wouldn’t really want to fight him, though. I have a lot of respect for him.
Dianne Cayetano, 11, Filipino
Do you ever beat people up? Do any of you have brothers or sisters? I used to beat my little brother up, but when you grow up you don’t want to fight as much. you’ll see.
Paul Bae, 11, Korean
Do you know where the pressure points are? There are pressure points all over your body. Behind the jaw, in your arm, your head, hands.
Judy Wen, 12, American
What do you study to be able to fight? There’s a lot of strategy behind jujitsu. Lots of training comes from practice; it’s not something you can learn in a book. I know what to do if somebody gets hurt and how to stay calm.
Jujitsu trains you to breathe so you don’t panic.
