Local martial arts students undergo 'Ruff' training

MOUNT VERNON – Arthur Ruff can’t remember a time in his life when he wasn’t training in

Arthur Ruff takes it to the mat with a student of LJJA Martial Arts Academy during a visit as a guest instructor Thursday night. (Photo by Adam Taylor)

martial arts.

The 33-year-old began training in the art of Judo at the age of 4. And by his teen-age years, he had discovered the art of Jiu-Jitsu.

It wasn’t long before he was training under Luiz Carlos Dias, better known as “Manimal,” a student of Jiu-Jitsu legend Professor Carlson Gracie. What followed were many years of training and competitions. Naturally, achievement came later with the art of competition.

With many national championship successes under his belt and a successful martial arts school in the Columbus area, Ruff now spends a great deal of time traveling the country to share his knowledge with mixed martial arts students. Thursday night, Ruff traveled to the LJJA Martial Arts Academy in Mount Vernon to be a guest instructor.

“He’s the best in the business,” said Dave Lashley, owner and senior instructor of LJJA. “In fact, he’s probably the best in the state, if not the whole east coast.”

Lashley often brings guest instructors to the academy. After seeing Ruff’s skill first-hand after training with him earlier this year, Lashley said he was impressed. Since then, Lashley has become a regular at Ruffhouse Jiu Jitsu in Grandview and hopes the new affiliation will bring many more opportunities for his students.

“Arthur, he’s the Pan Am champion and three-time U.S. champ. He’s won so many tournaments at a world level. We plan on going down there and participating as much as can. And I think that all the instructors there are great, extremely helpful and knowledgeable. It’s just one more asset of being part of Ruffhouse.”

Ruff migrated to the United States in 1998 from Brazil and has run martial arts academies stretching across the country. He currently holds a second-degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and holds a black belt in judo. Although he seldom competes in cage fights or UFC-style events, most of Ruff’s time is spent training fighters for the circuit.

And the success and popularity of UFC, he said, has been a boon for the martial arts community.

“For me, seeing it now getting so popular in the United States, I knew it was just a matter of time,” Ruff said. “I’m happy to see what’s happening now. There are more and more gyms spreading across the United States.”

Discipline is an important responsibility for martial artists, one Ruff takes seriously. Martial artists are often mischaracterized as bullies or fight-seekers when in fact instructors urge restraint and responsibility.

“It’s a lot like when you see a dog and it’s a pit bull – same thing for a fighter,” said Ruff. “I’ve always had bull terriers and my dogs have never bitten anybody. I was training in Judo or Jiu-Jitsu my whole life and I was never outside trying to fight somewhere. I think there’s a big misconception about that.”

But on the mat, Ruff is all business, and expects students to train the extra mile. Lashley said he plans to have Ruff back in the future.

More information on Ruff and his school is available at http://www.grandviewjiujitsu.com/. For information about LJJA, visit http://www.ljja.org. To enroll, call Lashley at 398-5579 or e-mail him at david@ljja.org.