First-degree black belt Mike Mazzio of Danvers came to Small Circle Jujitsu after enough martial-arts disciplines to last some people a lifetime.
He found something different in Small Circle and, for him, something better.
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| Mike Mazzio |
Mazzio is a 12-year veteran of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. A member of the Sheriff's Emergency Response Team, he wears the blue deputy sheriff’s uniform on the job at Boston’s Nashua Street Jail.
At the school, he works with other black belts and shares his sophisticated skills with less-seasoned students.
“We respond to problems; fights or inmate-on-inmate violence or inmate-on-officer violence or inmate problems," he said.
“If it comes down to doing something physical, I'll use Small Circle.
There's no striking. You can shut someone down; just grab them by the finger and escort them to their room. It's good for control."
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"I've never seen anything like what Small Circle can do for you."
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Mazzio, who grew up in Chelsea, met his surgical-nurse wife, Mona, while working in a hospital laboratory before joining the sheriff’s department.
"I've been studying martial arts since I was 11 or 12. I started in 1968 with basics of Shoto Kan, and went to Shorin-Ryu and Kempo and Tae Kwon Do for a few years. Then there was Thai boxing, boxing, kickboxing. I did Jeet Kune Do, that's Bruce Lee stuff, and Savate.
“But I've never seen anything like what Small Circle can do for you. It covers everything. I wish I met Ed [Melaugh] 25 years ago," he said, laughing.
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The black-belt profile
Who earns a black belt in Small Circle Jujitsu? Only the best, only the most determined.
Here are some of the men and women who gained this sign of skill and respect at the New England Small Circle Jujitsu Academy. Click on a name for the profile and photo.
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Mazzio, 47, said said that whatever value the other, more-traditional systems have, they're limited and limiting.
"You know, traditional karate guys usually get beat up in the street by street fighters, When you go to a karate tournament, it's not realistic. It's not like street combat."
"First of all, you know there's a fight," he said. "But 90 percent of the time in the street you never know there's a fight coming. It's by surprise. It's dark. Or you have a bundle in your hands. You have tight pants on. You're on a set of stairs or you're outnumbered. It's never a sterile situation.
"Ed takes that stuff into consideration. That's why I like Small Circle so much; it's realistic. Sometimes I'll look at Ed -- even now -- and I'll say, 'This guy is a genius, a martial-arts genius.' I don't know how he is at math, but he has the brain for this.
"I look at myself as a martial-arts dyslexic. Sometimes he'll show me stuff or tell me and I think, 'Is this my hand,'" he says and laughs. "It's hard for me, but he's so patient. Basically I stand there and just keep it coming, just keep going. Otherwise, I love it up there."
