Maruna Jiu-Jitsu: Interview with Coach You Taebin

By Jana Milosalvjevic

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) or simply jiu-jitsu is a grappling-based martial art focusing on the skill of controlling a resisting opponent in ways that force him to submit. Due to the fact that controlling and overcoming an opponent of greater size and strength with lesser size and strength can be seen as the keynote of the sport, those who practice it are thought to have a deep understanding of the workings and limits of the human body, many even referring to jiu-jitsu as “playing chess with your body.”

While BJJ is believed to have originated in 1925 in Japan, it was not until 1999 that it was first brought to Korea by John Frankl, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University, who came from the United States as a researcher and brown belt at the time. Nevertheless, it seems it has been just around the last decade that BJJ has been gaining real popularity in Korea, with more opportunities for both locals and foreign visitors to practice the martial art. Our Gwangju News team had the pleasure to talk to the owner and main coach of one of the recently opened gyms in Gwangju, Maruna Jiu-Jitsu.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Thank you for letting us join the class and for taking the time for this interview. To begin with, could you please briefly introduce Maruna Jiu-Jitsu?

You Taebin: Hello, and thank you for coming. Maruna Jiu-Jitsu is newly opened in Geumho-dong in Seo-gu. We offer jiu-jitsu classes and MMA classes – whether you want to learn some self-defense or are interested in the sports aspect of martial arts, we try to cover both during training.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Now could you tell us a bit about yourself – what got you into BJJ, and where was your first time training?

You Taebin: Actually, I got into jiu-jitsu while I was in the US. I started with Muay Thai (Thai boxing) training, and then the next one was not even jiu-jitsu; it was something called CSW that I first tried along with Muay Thai, as they offered some classes. CSW is short for combat submission wrestling, a modern form of submission wrestling. At first, I thought I would not really be good at it, but at least I would not be incompetent. However, as time went by, I realized it was way more fun, and through it, it slowly led me to BJJ, which I find most fun.

Jana Milosalvjevic: What is the biggest lesson that BJJ has taught you, and what inspired you to become a coach?

You Taebin: I would say the biggest lesson for me was that there is always a better way to do a certain task. Also, this is an overall idea in any kind of combat sports – you have to put yourself in an advantageous position to have an unfair fight in each exchange. So, I feel, to put it simply, you need to follow the path of least resistance. I think that would be the biggest lesson. As for what inspired me to become a coach, I felt like I was training for quite a while, and then I felt like I wanted to maintain my own style and share it with other like-minded jiu-jitsu enthusiasts, especially by bringing some new “BJJ trends” and movements that are popular in Western countries and not yet so widely spread here in Korea.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Speaking about BJJ in Korea, it seems it has gained a lot of popularity among people of all ages over the past several years. Still, could you please introduce BJJ briefly and how it got to Korea for those who might not be familiar with the sport yet?

You Taebin: Basically, jiu-jitsu is a martial art that primarily emphasized making your opponent submit. You want to get them into a position where they cannot do anything else but submit. In training, also, we do not do any strikes – it is all grappling. We want to use our body weight and structure to make the opponent unable to move. Now, in terms of popularity, it is definitely growing here in Korea. It was shown on TV recently also. Some celebrities train regularly, and they talked about it on TV, too. I think that helped a lot.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Could you now let us know a bit more about Maruna Jiu-Jitsu lessons, and what you can get at Maruna Jiu-Jitsu that you cannot get in other gyms?

You Taebin: Well, you can get me! (laughs) Just joking, but, yes – mostly I focus on having coherent lessons as much as possible. Obviously, these are group lessons, so they are not tailored for each individual personally, but assuming you come every day, you will be able to see the structure and learn techniques in a logical way. It seems to me most coaches, especially in Gwangju, are trained locally, so I believe what makes Maruna Jiu-Jitsu stand out is being able to learn from someone trained outside of Korea, which brings greater variety in style.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Personally, I learned a lot of Korean and made many Korean friends thanks to joining a BJJ after-school club at university. I hear you speak perfect English, so I am curious, are the classes conducted in Korean or English? And to what extent do you think the language the coach speaks is important when training?

You Taebin: Right now, I am open to teaching classes in English if non-Korean speakers join. Currently there are none, but if someone joins, I will for sure use both languages to explain. To answer your other question, I think it is very important to learn in a language that you can actually understand. Can you imagine watching a video with instructions without understanding what they are saying? You can see their movement, yes, but you do not actually know what they are thinking and why they are moving in a certain way. So, because I think the most important aspect is understanding the technique, I also believe the language of teaching is definitely super important.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Please share with us a bit about your team at Maruna Jiu-Jitsu. Who are the members that join, and what do they aim to achieve? Do you compete at tournaments?

You Taebin: It has been only six months since we opened up, so we do not have a huge team right now, but some members compete quite regularly. I try to compete myself, too, but there are not many who compete as brown and black belts in Korea, so sometimes it is not easy to find opponents. Also, I have become somewhat busier after opening the gym (laughs) so, it has become more difficult to travel. About the members – the ages vary from primary school students to those in their 40s, but I would say those in their 20s and 30s make up most of our members. I think most of them are just interested in exercising in a fun way. Although they might start training to maybe obtain some physical benefits or as a hobby, eventually, I think everyone ends up sticking to it because it is fun.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Why would you recommend anyone to start with BJJ, and is there any group of people in particular you think might benefit the most from doing BJJ?

You Taebin: Actually, the affiliation I am coming from is Kowloon Jiu-Jitsu from Hong Kong, and their slogan is actually “Grappling for all.” I agree with that, and I think anyone can benefit.

Jana Milosalvjevic: Among our Gwangju News readers, there might be some people wanting to try out BBJ but are too shy to make the first step. Do you have any words of advice or encouragement to somebody thinking about starting BJJ?

You Taebin: There is a common saying that it is better late than never. So, why not just start right now if you are interested? You need not worry about being inexperienced or feeling a bit clumsy at the beginning – that is natural, as doing jiu-jitsu is pretty foreign to most people, unless they have done wrestling before. (laughs) So, just give it a go! Here at Maruna Jiu-Jitsu, the first lesson is free, so it literally costs nothing to try!

Photographs courtesy of Maruna Jiu-Jitsu.