LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Respect. Training. Skills. Honor. Humility. These are fundamental elements of the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a self-defense system focusing on grappling and ground fighting.
These values are also significant pieces in the formation of the Air Force core values of integrity, service and excellence.
Staff Sgt. Christopher Costa, a 10th Intelligence Squadron link systems technician, brings the two sides together. Throughout his travels in the Air Force, he has climbed the ranks of the martial art and now serves as a BJJ instructor at Langley Air Force Base, Va., spreading his mat, and leadership expertise, with military members.
Costa's journey in BJJ began in 2006 while serving as an Airman at his first duty station, Yokota Air Base, Japan. His first foray into martial arts was humble, consisting of a few Airmen "rolling around, watching [Ultimate Fighting Championship] videos online."
Costa and his friends met BJJ Professor Bobby Williams, now a master sergeant serving at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. What began as unorganized sparring on the floors of Yokota's base housing evolved into serious training under Williams - and Costa was hooked.
"When I first got into martial arts, I was into Muy Thai kickboxing. Then I found about grappling," Costa said. "All fights start standing up. However, 85 percent of fights end on the ground - most of the time, BJJ fighters win."
After just six months of training, Williams awarded Costa his blue belt, the first promotion in the BJJ adult rank system. After taking an assignment at Osan AB, Republic of Korea, Costa found a gym to begin training fellow military members. Upon returning to Yokota on his follow-on assignment, he continued his training under Williams, earning his purple belt.
In 2009, both Williams and Costa left Japan. Williams received orders to JB-MDL, and Costa deployed to Iraq. While in Iraq, he and fellow martial artists organized the first-ever "Friday Night Fights" at what was then Contingency Operating Adder and Tallil Air Base. Costa and his team packed more than 1,500 Service members into a shelltop tent for the events, which featured Airmen, Soldiers and other U.S. military personnel. After his deployment, Costa received orders to Langley AFB, where he vowed to continue his art.
As his skills progressed and his connections grew, Costa began to realize the depth of appreciation he had for the sport and what it meant to him, both professionally and emotionally.
"I fell in love with the art. Jiu-Jitsu saved me. Growing up as an Airman, I wasn't violent, but I was out of control. I definitely wasn't the best Airman," Costa recalled. "Through Jiu-Jitsu, I learned discipline, respect and humility. It calmed me down a lot. If I didn't have Jiu-Jitsu, I don't know where I'd be today.
"Knowing I did something good, earning the rank, was like a kid getting a prize," he continued. "I liked competing, and I liked winning and getting recognized. But even more, I liked meeting new people and sharing the art. It is something I love, and I don't want to keep it to myself."
Costa said the friends he meets on the mats are his "brothers-in-arms," and that his goal is to continue his progression through the ranks and his tutelage of other aspiring martial artists.
"I'm not really going to get better unless I help my peers get better," he said. "If I'm just beating everybody up all the time and not teaching them how to defeat me, I'm going to be stuck at the same level. The better I make them, the better it makes me."
This ethos is strikingly similar to another of Costa's professions - the role of noncommissioned officer in the Air Force.
"My time training in BJJ is a lot like my time in uniform. It's not just the ranks you work up through - it's the humility, the training aspect and the pride," he explained. "Being a purple belt is a lot like being an NCO. I have a responsibility to instruct and teach, which helps my growth too. Teaching new BJJ players is like training new troops. You have to help mold the future.
"As an Airman and a martial artist, I was always taught to leave things better than when you came," he continued. "That's what we do in Jiu-Jitsu and as Airmen. I want to leave a legacy on both sides, with my students and with my Airmen."
Costa recently helped organize Endure Jiu-Jitsu, an official BJJ affiliation under the now-black belt Williams. Costa said the name "Endure" stems from the members' need to endure the circumstances and beat the odds of the constant moves and deployments as part of the military profession in order to be successful as BJJ artists.
"We started as a rag-tag group of players in a living room, and are now a fully affiliated school. We want to train anybody in the military that wants to unite and learn the art," he said. "That is what drives us, drives me. By the time I [leave this base], I want to have someone step up and prepared to continue, and wherever I go I'll open another branch.
"We want military members to not be lost in their training. Professor Bob endured that, having to travel between California and Japan just to make the next belt," Costa explained. "We as military members have to endure to be successful, in all areas. It's not a short term ride; it's a long term investment."
Costa hosts BJJ classes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Air Combat Command Fitness Center Combatives Room. For more information, contact Costa at (757) 636-0691 or email christopher.costa@langley.af.mil. To register, visit the Shellbank Fitness Center.