The University of Kentucky recently welcomed a brand-new Jiu-Jitsu club. It is one of three martial arts clubs on campus and meets every Sunday from 4-6 pm in the pad room at Alumni Gym.
Junior Will Knight started the club to encourage students to be active without the price tag associated with a traditional gym membership.
“When I got up here, clubs were very, very expensive, upwards of 99 dollars a month,” Knight said. “I thought, we have this pad room, we don’t have a club. It’s a good way for students to get involved and learn the skills, so we started one.”
Junior Landon Cord worked with Knight early in the spring 2025 semester to build a safe place for people to learn something new. As a wrestler, Cord has experience with the techniques used in Jiu-Jitsu, but others may not have the same background.
“A lot of guys in here had no grappling experience prior to coming. And it’s a very intimidating thing,” Cord said. “It’s healthy to have an ego, everybody has one, but you come in here and you get tapped or submitted by someone who knows what they’re doing, it can be hard to deal with.”
Jiu-Jitsu is a combat sport commonly used for self-defense. This traditional martial art applies close-range grappling techniques and leverage to control an opponent.
“I think there’s something very humbling about doing a combat sport,” Cord said. “You just leave everything out on the mat, it’s very taxing.”
Cord and Knight have not only built a club, but also a community around the sport of Jiu-Jitsu. Members keep coming back because of the atmosphere and the people that built it.
“You’re going to meet a bunch of like-minded people you can get along with,” Cord said. “You don’t really form a much stronger bond than with someone who is trying to choke you.”
