Rome News-Tribune

Heel hooks and history lessons all in a day’s work

♦ Rome High School teacher earns his black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu.

- By Elizabeth Crumbly

Nat Bomar believed his morning workout one day in early January at Team Octopus, a martial arts facility in Cartersvil­le, would be routine. And it was — until Bomar’s family and a handful of blackbelts filed into the building near the end of the session.

As it turned out, this group had come to the gym to recognize Bomar for an accomplish­ment more than a decade in the making. It was the day he would receive his own black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu.

Bomar began his journey in martial arts at the age of 14 when his high school Spanish teacher offered a little after-school instructio­n. His interest from that introducti­on grew. He went on to practice judo from 2005 to 2008 at the Rome Martial Arts Center, and he got into Brazilian jiujitsu at Empire Jiu-jitsu in Rome. He earned his blue, purple and brown belts under Chip Coffey, who owned the Cartersvil­le facility until 2018, and he has continued to train there for the past few years with Johnathan Robinson.

Unlike in some other discipline­s, there isn’t a testing process for new belts, so it was anybody’s guess, including Bomar’s, as to when he would earn the coveted black belt. It’s usually at least a 10-year process, he says, and he arrived at year 11.

Teaching in two worlds

Given his long associatio­n with martial arts, it’s only natural that his approach to everyday life would incorporat­e the problem solving skills he’s learned on the mats.

“How I see the world — jiujitsu is kind of a filter,” he says, explaining that the art, which is heavy on grappling and ground fighting, promotes problem solving.

“You think jiujitsu guys are going to be bodybuildi­ng brutes, but it’s mostly nerds — people who like really nice problems. You become really aware of what you’re doing.”

The constant learning aspect of Brazilian jiujitsu dovetails nicely with his day job in the history department at Rome High School. He teaches social studies, U.S. and world history, among other things. And a couple of mornings a week, long before the tardy bell rings at school, he can be found on the mats at Team Octopus working out athletes seeking to learn from his experience. He arrives at the gym around 5:40 a.m. and goes straight from there to the high school.

Bomar enjoys the prospect of seeing minds develop in the classroom and on the mat, and he values the opportunit­y to be a part of his Brazilian jiujitsu students’ journeys.

“I think it’s really cool to watch somebody on day one to come in with no skills,” he says, adding that it’s gratifying to see newcomers gain confidence. “It’s pretty cool to be a part of.”

One of the unique aspects of Brazilian jiujitsu is the fact that participan­ts are encouraged to build a repertoire of maneuvers that work best for them.

“You adapt the move sets and the techniques that work best,” Bomar explains. “You develop what’s called a game.”

The art is similar to wrestling, except the goal is to submit one’s opponent. Bomar says it resembles the ground portion of an Ultimate Fighting Championsh­ip match. For him, the process of moving through the belts has distinctiv­e differenti­ations. White belts are simply surviving, he says. Blue belts move past the survival stage to learn specific moves, and brown belts begin developing their respective games.

‘Grow into the belt’

Bomar and his wife, Rebecca, a paralegal, are both Rome natives. She and their three daughters don’t participat­e in Brazilian jiujitsu, but they support his involvemen­t, and he hopes the girls will join him when they’re older.

The gym and the sport itself has brought Bomar an extended family of sorts.

“It’s really like kind of a brotherhoo­d,” he explains.

Modern-day Brazilian jiujitsu serves its participan­ts as more of a sport than an actual mode of attack or self defense, but it can still be dangerous. Those who practice it must have trust in one another.

“If someone doesn’t stop if you tap, it can permanentl­y maim you. You’re literally putting your life in some else’s hands,” he says.

Bomar credits his instructor­s with the mentorship and well-crafted lessons that have meant success for him.

“I’ve been lucky to have really good coaches. Professor Traven has been amazing. He’s one of the best in the world,” he says, referencin­g Roberto Traven, the 6th degree blackbelt associated with Team Octopus.

He also recognizes Coffey and Robinson for a fun and challengin­g learning experience and for “making me feel like a white belt every day.”

Although he’s accomplish­ed a long term goal, Bomar has no illusions that he can rest on his laurels. As if to illustrate that point, the blackbelts in attendance at his recent ceremony, in an effort to welcome him to the fold, subjected him to a “shark tank” experience in which he wrestled them one by one for 35 minutes.

Bomar recalls the experience with a good-humored laugh and acknowledg­es that although he has the black belt he worked toward for so long, he’s still on a journey.

“There’s no end goal,” he says. “Once you start training jiujitsu, it becomes a part of you because it takes you so long … I don’t think you ever feel like you’re ready. You kind of grow into the belt.”

 ?? Contribute­d ?? Rome High School teacher Nat Bomar (center) recently earned his black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu.
Contribute­d Rome High School teacher Nat Bomar (center) recently earned his black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu.

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