When the school dismissal bell rings at 4 p.m., the jiu-jitsu training room of Shenzhen Dawang School ushers in its busiest moment. Team members change into their uniforms and engage in a series of grappling matches full of skill and strength. This jiu-jitsu club, established less than four months ago, has quickly grown into a medal “harvester”.
At the recently concluded COPA International Jiu-Jitsu Open (Shenzhen Station), 29 young athletes from Dawang School competed against strong opponents from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, winning a total of 28 medals, including 4 golds, 11 silvers and 13 bronzes. In addition, at the 2025 Grand Slam of the International Professional Jiu-Jitsu Tour held last September, Dawang School’s jiu-jitsu team wrapped up with an impressive record of two golds and three silvers.
Jiu-jitsu is a martial art that integrates strategy, physical principles and body control. It emphasizes neutralizing strength with skills and creating winning opportunities through structural control. Founded in August this year, Dawang School’s jiu-jitsu club currently has more than 30 members.
In the view of Liu Jianqi, Secretary of the Party Branch and Principal of Shenzhen Dawang School, the confrontational nature of jiu-jitsu is its unique educational value. “Students face pressure and challenges directly in actual combat every day, which is crucial for tempering their pressure resistance and resilience in the face of setbacks.”
Lu Zhicheng, the club’s coach, introduced, “On the basis of one PE class every day, members of the school’s jiu-jitsu team receive special training, and then participate in hierarchical jiu-jitsu club activities after school, creating a systematic and regular training model.” In response to parents’ concerns about safety, he also gave a professional reply: “Under scientific guidance, jiu-jitsu is a relatively safe confrontational sport. Our training content is carried out in a stepped manner, focusing on basic techniques, control and defense, with an emphasis on cultivating body control ability and self-protection awareness.”
“The jiu-jitsu club is a vivid example of our ‘Ideological and Political Education + Sports’ characteristic education model,” said Principal Liu Jianqi. Adhering to the guidance of ideological and political education, the school has built a diversified sports characteristic brand and successively established clubs such as martial arts, basketball, fencing and jiu-jitsu. It aims to let the educational philosophy of “civilizing the spirit and strengthening the physique” take root and grow in rich sports practices. Students temper their physique through sweat, learn respect and perseverance through confrontation, and truly achieve physical and mental co-education and all-round development.
