GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — A nonprofit is giving veterans a renewed sense of purpose and a new outlook on life through the power of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Veterans Breakthrough started in February 2020 with the intention of helping veterans find a purpose after leaving service.
After noticing several of its board members trained jiu-jitsu, the nonprofit decided to host a jiu-jitsu tournament earlier this year to raise money.
The tournament raised around $30,000, prompting the nonprofit to create a scholarship program for veterans. It covers a jiu-jitsu membership for up to a year, which can cost hundreds of dollars per month.
Veterans Breakthrough founder Christopher Howard saw the addition as a way to further help veterans transition into civilian life. As a veteran himself, Howard said he struggled after leaving the military.
It wasn't until he started training jiu-jitsu that he discovered a similar sense of purpose.
“Finding that passion, that purpose, that direction in life, was something that was so powerful," Howard said.
As he continued to train, he found more similarities between the martial art and military service.
“Just like in the military, we have ranks in jiu-jitsu. You have ranks, you have different belt structures to go up and grow to," Howard said. "The camaraderie, the community — that's in the jiu-jitsu world.”
One scholarship recipient, Army veteran Christopher Smith, has already felt both the physical and mental benefits of training jiu-jitsu.
“I had a hard time focusing and just controlling my anger and it's really helped me kind of stay calm and just keep myself grounded," Smith said.
While it has only been a month, Smith said, he is looking forward to training more.
“Learning the moves and learning how to be coordinated in a way that you're not used to is a difficult situation for some of us, but I'm catching on," Smith said.
Smith said, he hopes other veterans know that help is out there, and "it's okay to not be okay."
He trains at Undisputed South, a gym in Green Valley, where owner Matthew Blank says the martial art provides "a good platform to instill discipline and some other things that will help you out in the real world.”
So far, Veterans Breakthrough has had five veterans go through the scholarship program, but its goal is to get to 16 by the end of the year.
———
Maria Staubs is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Maria by emailing maria.staubs@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
