Nicolae Cury, head coach and program director of the V7 Martial Arts Studio in Moscow, has a black belt in Judo, started Brazilian Jujitsu in 2006, and has 13 professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights under his belt.
Cury tried to make the Brazilian Olympic team twice during his young adulthood, but after the second time he decided to move to the states and start fighting professionally.
“It”s always been about starting my own school, but it”s very hard to find the right resources, timing, and right place,” Cury said.
V7 opened four weeks ago on Troy Road. He said the Palouse seemed like the perfect fit, because there weren”t many martial arts options in the area, and his wife, Cathy Harbour, is originally from Pullman. She runs the management aspect of the business.
“Our job is to make (students) fall in love with the sport, first and foremost,” Cury said.
Cury said the training, based on Judo principles, focuses on coordination, athleticism, flexibility as well as stimulating coordination and the mind, especially with younger students. He said the children”s courses also teach proper falling techniques that can also be applied to other activities, such as falling off a bike.
“Judo is supposed to be one of the best sports for kid”s initiation, so it”s a lot of coordination,” Cury said. “It also helps with discipline, and we are always challenging them, their mind, and their bodies with the tasks we are giving them.”
Students aged 13-14 and 15-17 have the option to choose between Judo or Brazilian Jujitsu.
Adults, aged 18 and up, are able to choose between Judo, Brazilian Jujitsu and MMA.
One of the studio”s members is University of Idaho instructor Travis Cowles, who was been practicing Brazilian Jujitsu for about 10 years.
“I started gaining weight in my undergraduate, so I decided I needed to do something active, but just couldn”t bring myself to go to the gym,” Cowles said.
His undergraduate school had a MMA club. Cowles said that”s where he fell in love with Brazilian Jujitsu.
“Brazilian Jujitsu and Judo are both great ways to get exercise, and they aren”t boring,” Cowles said. “It really takes some thought and practice.”
Cowles said when Cury opened the gym, it seemed like a great place to go for instruction and practice.
“(Cury) is just a really nice guy,” Cowles said. “He seems invested in trying to make everyone better.”
Cowles said the encouraging nature of Cury”s practice continues outside of the gym. He said some of his friends who train with Cury often receive encouraging text messages from him after classes.
“We want everyone to be safe and we take every person”s goals and try to help them reach those,” Cury said. “We want to work with each person on whatever they are aiming for.”
Diamond Koloski can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @diamond_uidaho