Ezekile. The victim’s neck is pinned between your two forearms and pressure is applied to limit air flow.

This is only one of the many moves in Brazilian jiujitsu, a martial arts form where most of the fighting is done on the ground. In a typical match, both fighters start out standing and then collide like rams, holding onto each other’s shoulders until one takes down the other. Once both fighters are on the ground, the object is to inflict as much pain as possible until the other fighter taps out. The competitors get themselves into twists and tangles, rolling and tumbling in every which way. Points are awarded based on how well the fighters perform. If time runs out, the fighter with the most points wins.

At Michigan, the Brazilian jiujitsu team is led by senior president Doug Broege and sophomore vice president Lynn Ciarelli and meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the Intramural Sports Building. An additional women’s class meets on Friday.

The team just finished fighting in the Great Lakes Brazilian Jiujitsu Championships and joined forces with the Focus team, a local team, to take home third place overall. One highlight of the event was newcomer Scott Li1es’s silver medal.

“I was glad I finally won one. It was my first tournament win,” Li1es said.

Broege agreed that Li1es has shown tremendous improvement this year. Ciarelli choked somebody unconscious with the Ezekile move. Knockouts are a legal but rare occurrence in Brazilian jiujitsu.

“(Ciarelli) is one of the best grapplers we have,” Broege said.

Competition has two main events: gi and no-gi. In gi, the fighters wear a baggy fighting outfit called a gi. It may seem to have little effect on the fighting situation, but the gi can be used in many moves. For example, a fighter will often use an opponent’s gi for choking, or he will use his own gi to reinforce a grip. Besides being separated into gi and no-gi events, fighters are also matched based on weight class, unless they choose to compete in the absolute event, where any fighter is allowed to participate, regardless of weight class.

The background of the team is very diverse. The field consists of wrestlers, judo and akido black belts, as well as people with no fighting experience at all. Some people join to create a solid foundation of self-defense, while others participate to fine-tune fighting skills.

“There are some people that can kick anybody’s ass in here.” Ciarelli said.

The previous fighting skills that people come in with usually work to their advantage. Broege feels this way about the sophomore competition team captain, Todd Boynton.

“(Boynton) wins most of his matches because he is such a good wrestler,” Broege said.

On the contrary, some fighters get into trouble because of bad fighting habits. Because wrestlers do not like to be on their backs, they will often try to roll over, which will cost them the match.

Brazilian jiujitsu effectively mimics real fighting. Most other martial art forms focus on kicking and punching, while Brazilian jiujitsu has more to do with grabbing and floor fighting. In a typical street fight, this is more like what will happen. Besides being realistic, Brazilian jiujitsu also offers the benefit of full-force training.

“You can only throw a punch so hard when boxing with a friend,” Broege said.

Training at full force allows fighters to improve, since they do not have to hold anything back. In fact, almost all of the professional fighters on television are expertly trained in Brazilian jiujitsu.

“When I watch (television) I say, ‘Oh, I know how to do that!” Lynn said.

Many of the fighters will use moves that are commonly performed in class, such as the arm bar, in which the elbow of the opponent is locked between the fighter’s legs and is then hyperextended with the force of the fighter’s arms. Broege and Ciarelli both agree that Brazilian jiujitsu is the superior martial art form.

When asked how the team compared to last year, Ciarelli had a less than formal response.

“Awesome,” she said.

Broege is also satisfied with the progress the team has made this year.

“We are in the process of rebuilding a competition team,” Broege said.

There are several key players this year. Sophomore Anna de Caneva is one of the many excellent fighters on the team.

“She may look small, but she’s a tough little cookie,” Ciarelli said.

De Caneva is especially skilled in takedowns, which is beneficial because a takedown gives an edge right from the beginning of the fight. Another valuable member of the team is Mondeng, who, at a measly 125 pounds, defeated a gargantuan 250-pound competitor.

The Michigan Brazilian jiujitsu team has shown perseverance and dedication and will continue to strive to be the best.