Northwestern’s ParaCombatives Ju-Jutsu Club hosted a free combat demonstration Tuesday evening at Blomquist Recreation Center, 617 Foster St.

The goal of the event was “to recruit people for the Winter Quarter’s beginning classes,” said Joyce Pang, the club’s vice president.

The demonstration began with a 15-minute warm-up session, which included jumping jacks, stretching, push-ups and strength-training exercises. All of the members were dressed in bright white, the traditional Ju-Jutsu uniform.

During the warm-up, club members chanted loudly as they counted off the repetitions for their exercises. In another phase, they stood in a semi-circle and fell straight back onto the mats in unison, creating a thunderous echo throughout the gym and catching observers off guard.

In introducing Ju-Jutsu to the 20 guests in attendance, instructors described it as “the martial arts of the Samurai.”

All of the observers sat barefoot and cross-legged as they watched.

“I’ve never been to any sort of karate demonstration before,” said Jack Basten, a Weinberg freshman. “It’s something interesting to come and see.”

After the warm-up, club members demonstrated a series of mock one-on-one fights. One member played the “attacker” and another the “victim.”

The training sessions and participation in the club are intended to teach students how to defend themselves in the real world, instructors said. Students can learn techniques to break a wrist, render someone unconscious and even crack a skull, demonstrators said.Volunteer instructors, all of whom are NU alumni, led the demonstration and also conduct regular lessons and practices.

Guests said they were impressed by the students’ skills.

“They’re really amazing,” Weinberg freshman Rebecca Rodriguez said. “I don’t think I could do any of these things.”

Club members said self-defense lessons and practice can lend themselves to campus safety.

“We want to help people through teaching Ju-Jutsu techniques, enabling them to defend themselves in the street if they had to,” Pang said.

This academic year, there have been five University Police crime alerts, including two robberies, one attempted robbery, one instance of criminal sexual abuse and one instance of trespassing, according to UP’s Web site.

In the past, the Ju-Jutsu Club has promoted self-defense by participating in Wildcat Welcome firesides and teaching new members of the NU community about safety on campus, Pang said.

“We also tried to initiate SafeWalk, during which members of the club would come help walk people around campus late at night,” she said.

Observers said they thought the techniques were useful.

“This seems really cool and practical,” said Molly Barstow, a Weinberg freshman. Club members said interested students need not be martial arts masters. “We recruit anyone affiliated with Northwestern, from graduates to undergraduate students,” said Weinberg senior Jia Zhang, the club’s president. “There are no prerequisites, unless you have a heart condition in which case I don’t suggest participating,” [email protected]