CAMDEN – Angela Crawford has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and she has been teaching a women's self defense class at Flow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at 255 Molyneaux Road, in Camden. The class attracted 16 women. Crawford explained Jiu Jitsu as the gentle art because there is not a lot of striking in it. She also said it is one of the only martial arts that when you hit the ground you can still defend yourself.

This is the second of three self defense classes being offered by Flow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The third will be held on March 30 at 6 p.m. Erin Scalli, a white belt at FlowBJJ, has been assisting with the teaching.

"This is a basic self-defense class," said Crawford. "If they want to do more, they can sign up for an advanced class. If the third class turns out well, we might do another Friday night class. Friday nights seems to work out well for everybody."

Crawford said the class is good because it gives women a good base line with which to start.

"If helps them be aware of certain situations," said Crawford. "It would help them either to alleviate a threat, or protect themselves."

"Some of the moves are as simple as getting a person off of you," said Crawford. "It's not really physical, like punching and hitting and kicking."

In a defensive situation a person's attacker will likely be bigger in size. The classes help a person get away.

Hayden Martz is the head instructor for Flow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He explained the Brazilian connection to the martial art and how it differs from the Japanese style of Jiu Jitsu.

"Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was founded by the Gracie family from Brazil," he said. "It's a long, long, long story. Japanese Jiu Jitsu is more of an ancient art of fighting with weapons. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu focuses more on grappling and hand-fighting."

By maximizing the leverage, a smaller opponent is able to gain the advantage over a larger, stronger opponent. For more history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu go here, flowbrazilianjiujitsu.com/what-is-brazilian-jiujitsu/

Martz said the school has been in its current location for three years. It has been part of the Midcoast for seven years. Martz is a brown belt and has been for two years. He trains under Aaron Blake, of Boothbay, and who has a fourth-degree black belt and was trained in Brazil.

So how did Martz wind up with FlowBJJ?

"The previous instructor moved away and I was the highest ranking student," he said. "It was either keep things going or close the door, so I chose to see what I could do with it."

FlowBJJ offers classes to children and adults. There are classes three days a week and Martz said that during competition season they add an extra day of classes.

"There are various competitions around," he said. "Lots of times we'll travel to Portland. A couple of weeks from now, there is a competition in Boston."

Martz said that the idea for a women's defense course came from Crawford.

"I had considered doing it last year with the Rockland police, but the plans kind of fell through, so we decided to give it a go." he said. "I felt like having a woman instructor would enable more women to feel more comfortable."

Martz said he was happy with the response to the class.

"The turnout was great," he said. "Last week we had 17 women show up and this week 16. There is definitely that potential for it to turn into a weekly class. I would leave that up to Angie. We have this building and there are some night classes here now and there are open nights where something like that could pan out if there was enough interest."

“Crawford has been training with FlowBJJ for four years” Martz said. “She is a very competent instructor. She opened a lot of eyes in Portland last year at a competition where she won double gold,"

For more information or to sign up for a class, find them on the web at http://www.flowbrazilianjiujitsu.com/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Flow.JiuJitsu/