Terre Haute’s Jack McVicker wrapping up championship year in martial arts

By Brian M. Boyce

TERRE HAUTE — Jack McVicker’s been a very bad boy this year. And he can decorate a Christmas tree with medals to prove it.

“This year’s been an awesome year for me,” the 37-year-old world champion International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation competitor and local instructor said Wednesday afternoon.

Inside McVicker’s Martial Arts Academy at 125 S. Seventh St., a doctor sparred with a factory worker on thick red mats. McVicker demonstrated a few of the take-down moves that helped him secure the championship in his weight class at the 2009 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 8, as well as the open class gold medal there.

In July, he won a gold medal at the Masters and Seniors tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In March, he earned the championship in his weight class and the “Absolute Division” at the Pan American Tournament in Los Angeles.

The list of this year’s championships continues, including successful defenses of titles in fights ranging from those in weight classes to those in the open division.

“I like fighting the big guys,” the 5-foot-11, 165-pounder grinned. “You have to use a lot of strategy. It makes it challenging.”

A Chrisman (Ill.) High School graduate and Indiana State University alumnus, McVicker has been practicing martial arts for 25 years, focusing about 16 of those on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A grappling system designed to force opponents into submission, the art has become popularized in mixed martial arts contests in recent years.

Jiu-Jitsu contests are hosted under “Gi” or “No-Gi” rules, meaning with or without the robe-like uniform. No-Gi contestants just wear shorts, he explained.

Jiu-Jitsu focuses on grappling holds, chokes and joint locks. Striking is barred, whereas in mixed martial arts contests it’s allowed. McVicker is affiliated with the Gracie organization of Brazil, which played a defining role in establishing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Music was jamming from a stereo in the background as a couple of students worked out. James Jackson, a TRW employee in his seventh year with McVicker, said he likes practicing Jeet Kune Do. The art, originally devised by martial arts legend Bruce Lee, is more of a stand-up fighting system.

“I like doing the striking,” he said. “For myself, I started late in life. I was 37 years old, but it was something I had always wanted to do. And I got the best teacher,” he added, noting that his first few training sessions had him exhausted and guzzling water.

“Yeah, I remember that day,” McVicker laughed. While Jackson said he’s not interested in heavy competition, other McVicker students are bringing back medals from Jiu-Jitsu and MMA tournaments. McVicker noted that one student won two MMA tournaments in Japan this year and is slated for participation in an upcoming NBC television series.

In 2002, McVicker began incorporating wrestling workouts into his own with the help of former Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology coach Greg Archer. Those moves, in addition to his traditional martial arts training, make him tough with a take-down, particularly the double-leg, he said.

Meanwhile, Nate Grow, a physician from Jasper, lent his visibly heavier body for a demonstration as McVicker shot across the mat, scooped up his legs and threw him onto his back. Grow has been making the 110-mile drive from Jasper to McVicker’s for six years. “It’s the best school in the world,” he said.

McVicker also operates an academy in Champaign, Ill., and said he hopes to host local Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in the Wabash Valley this year to help his students prepare for international meets. And while several of his students have made the move to MMA, McVicker said that switch isn’t for him as the necessary preparation would interfere with teaching classes, his full-time business.

“I’m just going to see how far we can keep it going,” he said, demurring the traditional titles of master or sensei. “I’m a competitor,” he said.



Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints