Kopp brings jiu-jitsu to Custer

Looking for a good workout, a way to boost your confidence or a way to test mental toughness?
How about all three?
Look no further than the jiu-jitsu classes now being offered at Hub Fitness, thanks to a Custer High School graduate who has come home to share his love of the sport with the Black Hills.
Alex Kopp, a Custer High School Class of 2011 graduate, leads classes for both adults and youth, saying it is his hope he can share his passion for jiu-jitsu, a sport he said has made his life signficantly better.
“My family is back here, and I saw an opportunity to to grow the sport here in Custer,” he said. “I’ve seen it blow up all over the nation. I’m super excited to come back to Custer and try to grow the sport of jiu-jitsu.”
Kopp, a purple belt in the sport, took up jiu-jitsu just before the COVID-19 pandemic. He had always expressed a desire to give it a try, and one day a friend signed Kopp up—along with some other friends—for a class.
“Ever since that moment, I haven’t looked back,” he said.
That was in San Diego, initially under the tutelage of Julio Villaneueva and then training for many years under Gustavo Diaz. He also credits some of the “top dogs in the sport in the early 2000s” for helping him learn, including Leo Santos, Saulo Ribeiro and Xande Ribeiro at Six Blades Academy.
So what is jiu-jitsu?
Jiu-jitsu is a grappling-based martial art with a central theme of controlling a resisting opponent in ways that force them to submit. It is centered around the skill of taking an opponent down to the ground and wrestling for dominant control positions from where the opponent can be rendered harmless. It is a defensive martial art, and there is no striking involved. Leverage plays a key role, with smaller practitioners often able to use it to their advantage in controlling larger and stronger opponents. 
Kopp likens it to a physical game of chess.
“That’s what I’m so drawn to. It’s a cerebral sport,” he said. “Every single move has a counter. Every counter has a counter to that counter.”
Brazilian jiu-jitsu came to the world stage in November 1993 at Ultimate Fighting Championship One in Denver, Colo., when 180-pound Royce Gracie walked into a tournament with no weight classes, rounds or judges and nobody could stop him.
Kopp said since that time, jiu-jitsu has continued to evolve.
Lee Disse of Hill City is both a student and helper for Kopp’s classes, and said the mental aspect of jiu-jitsu is key, as it teaches you how to deal calmly with difficult situations.
“Someone is lying on top of you trying to choke you and you have to stay calm in that situation,” he said. “For youth, it boosts their confidence. If you have kids who have low self-esteem, I’ve seen their confidence skyrocket.”
Disse said is also helps adults become more confident in themselves, and teaches them discipline and perseverance.
“When stuff gets hard, it’s not as hard as trying to get Alex off the top of me,” he said with a smile.
Kopp said being able to breathe and remain calm through moments of pressure on the mat translates to everyday life, and it’s learned every day in class.
“Early on your fight or flight instinct gets activated,” he said. “Especially when you’re sparring and someone is trying to get on top of you and submit you. You have to temper your fight or flight, focus on your breathing and think clearly and calmly.”
Both Kopp and Disse point out jiu-jitsu is for people of all ages and abilities. Whether it’s a white belt or a black belt, all skill levels train together (although there are seperate classes for children and adults) and all lift each other up and teach each other.
“You learn from the black belt and you learn from the white belt,” Kopp said. “You learn from every single person you train with.”
“I always try to roll with upper belts way above me, because they can control themselves and expose your weaknesses,” Disse said. “Size doesn’t matter. It’s how you handle your weight, your submissions, positions you get into.”
Both men also call the sport extremely humbling.
“One of the coolest things in the world is when you go against someone who you underestimate and they tie you in a knot,” Kopp said with a laugh.
Kopp’s classes for children are for kids as young as 6 to 16 and are Mondays and Fridays at 4 p.m. at Hub Fitness. Adult classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. at Saturday at 11 a.m. Anyone interested can sign up at hubfitness.co or are free to stop by Hub Fitness during a class and observe.
Kopp said Hub Fitness is top notch, another thing that made teaching the classes there attractive.
Disse said the hardest part of jiu-jitsu is showing up to the first class. Once that step is taken, the sky is the limit.
Kopp said jiu-jitsu is a great-community builder, and believes his classes are another opportunity for people to come together, learn and have fun.
“I’m super passionate about it for myself, teaching others and seeing kids do it, being more confident, comfortable, disciplined and athletic,” he said, adding he would have never dreamed his high school self would some day be involved in a combat sport. “All the benefits are awesome to see.”