Twenty-six-year-old Omar Guevara leads a double life—organic farmer by day, aspiring martial artist by night.
Guevara works for Rancho La Familia, an organic farm in Santa Maria. But if you’re looking for Guevara after hours or on his days off, you’ll probably find him at Paragon, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Cardio Kickboxing of Santa Maria.
“I first got interested in learning martial arts when I would watch UFC with my brother as a kid,” Guevara told the Sun. “I also grew up watching a lot of fighting shows, especially anime, like Dragon Ball Z. I wanted to learn Goku’s moves; that might have been what sparked this whole thing.”
Guevara first dabbled in karate during his junior year at Ernest Righetti High School. He didn’t discover his true passion, Jiu-Jitsu, until four years later when he joined Paragon.
“I first wanted to try Jiu-Jitsu because it covers ground fighting, and I was really only working on my stand up at the time,” Guevara said. “After a while, I grew to love Jiu-Jitsu even more than karate, which is something I didn’t expect.”
Despite his karate experience, Guevara found the transition to Jiu-Jitsu tricky at first, he said. But this rough patch didn’t last long, he added, thanks to the support from his peers and instructors at Paragon.
“The guys at Paragon are awesome, believe me, you couldn’t ask for better instructors,” Guevara said. “Everyone there feels like family really, in the way we help each other, but also talk shit in a brother-and-sister kind of way. Can’t get any better than that.”
Guevara has competed in several Jiu-Jitsu tournaments during the four years he’s been at Paragon, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship last year, which is hosted by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Foundation (IBJJF).
“Jiu-Jitsu is a blast, believe me,” Guevara said. “Like every form of martial arts, it takes a lot of energy out of you. But it’s really hard not to love it, trust me. It’s worth it.”
As for advice to beginners to Jiu-Jitsu, Guevara suggests to be patient, as it take’s a lot of time and effort, he said.
“Honestly, the best advice I can give is to just hang in there. For the first three months or so, you’re going to get your butt kicked,” Guevara said. “My advice is not to get discouraged during the butt kicking, because it happens to everyone. But once you start to get in the rhythm of Jiu-Jitsu, everything just flows.”
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 6, 2017.