BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — When Griffin Kunz, the co-owner of Bismarck Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, moved to Bismarck, he saw that it lacked this type of martial arts studio.

So, he opened his own. It started out small, sharing a space with two other martial arts groups.

Now, not only do they have a new location that makes it easier to serve more people, but they also extended their reach to the Bismarck Police Department as well.

A sport that is nearly 100 years old, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is based on submission and grappling and is commonly used as a self-defense technique.

Bismarck Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — or Bismarck BJJ — makes it a mission to develop students into exceptional martial artists who also embody integrity, resilience, and respect.

In the new location, open seven days a week, they are able to extend their mission to women and children as well.

But the new classes are not the only opportunity presented by the new studio space.

Bismarck BJJ now has a partnership with the Adopt-a-Cop program, a donation-based organization that provides free or reduced-rate memberships to police officers around the country.

Boris Vincic, the co-owner of Bismarck BJJ, says that this partnership is necessary because police officers only receive a couple of hours of combat training a year.

Vincic said, “It’s a recipe for disaster. You are throwing these police officers on the streets that don’t know how to handle these situations. When you are in extremely stressful situations, your brain kind of goes back to human instincts of survival, and you cannot make good decisions, you have to survive. And the only thing you know how to do is throw punches, pull out a gun, and that’s where the problem comes in. And what we teach here, that’s in my opinion probably one of the biggest things– we teach people how to stay calm in those situations.”

Vincic says this partnership greatly increases the safety of both civilians and officers.

“As a matter of fact, we do have a few local P.D. officers training here with us, we have some federal officers, and all of them say the same: now that they learned these skills, they’re a lot more confident on the street, they get in less fights, the resisting arrest moments last not as long, and they don’t get injured. So, we do think this is very effective,” Vinic added.

Vincic asks for those who are able to make the change to the police training protocol to do so, so that officers can protect themselves and others around them.

The next women’s self-defense class will be held on July 8, and the Bismarck Police Department will be there for support. If you want to sign up or donate to the Adopt-a-Cop program, click the link here.