Hempfield jiujitsu academy helps empower women, teaches self-defense

When Rebecca Blair decided to open a Brazilian jiujitsu academy in Westmoreland County last year, she knew she was making waves in a largely male-dominated sport.

What she didn’t know was the impact her academy, Gracie Allegiance Jiu Jitsu Academy in Hempfield’s Westmoreland Mall, would have on women across the region.

“I’ve worked with many women in the area who have been in abusive relationships,” said Blair, 37, of Slickville. “Teaching them self-defense with jiujitsu, it has empowered a few of them to leave those relationships and better themselves, find careers for themselves. It’s really exciting to see that happen.”

Blair opened Gracie Alle­giance Jiu Jitsu Academy in February with her husband, Jeramy, 41. Today, the academy has 65 students, half of whom are women, a rarity in the sport.

Brazilian jiujitsu is a martial art that utilizes principals of pressure, leverage, angles and time to achieve a nonviolent submission from the opponent.

The martial art has Japanese origins, and fighting styles vary across practices.

In Hempfield, classes center on nogi and gi, both of which use grappling and rolling techniques. A women’s-only self-defense class is held on Saturdays.

“I’m very passionate about helping women and teaching them self-defense,” Blair said.

Blair first started training in jiujitsu in 2007, when she and her husband were searching for a martial art that would help with self-defense.

“I was pregnant with my son at the time, so I went to classes and watched my husband train and kind of fell in love with it just watching it. And then I started after I had (my son), so I’ve been training ever since,” she said.

Since then, Blair has participated in several competitions and has been promoted to brown belt, the fourth of five belts.

Looking forward, Blair said she hopes to reach more women in the community while performing different outreach programs. The goal is to keep the academy community-­based.

“That’s probably my biggest goal is just more community outreach and getting people in here that really could use the self-defense and jiujitsu to benefit them,” she said.

She also hopes her children — Xavier, 14, and Gabriella, 9 — will continue training in jiujitsu as a form of self-defense.

“Seeing both of my children do it is fantastic, but definitely seeing my daughter do it and knowing that she’s having the skills at such a young age, that she can defend herself and protect herself, and just feel safe knowing that she can do those things, that’s really important,” she said.