There are a lot of kinds of clubs at IBEW locals, but Sacramento, Calif., Local 340 may be the only one with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu club.
"It really surprised a lot of our members when they first heard of it. This kind of group is not your typical type of activity for our local," Business Manager Bob Ward said. "It's a great testament to Troy's character that he's bridging his love for the Brotherhood with an art he's spent a lifetime cultivating."
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| Takara shows fellow Local 340 jiu-jitsu club members the initial steps on how to open a "closed guard" technique.
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Before Troy Takara even topped out of his apprenticeship, he was already launching the jiu-jitsu club. He was new to being an inside wireman, but he was already a black belt in the martial art. So in 2023, during his fourth year of the apprenticeship, he decided to combine his longtime love of jiu-jitsu with his newfound love of the IBEW.
"Jiu-jitsu and the spirit of the IBEW are very similar to one another. Everyone can develop their own set of skills and then share those skills with the people around them. And camaraderie is the best part," Takara said. "You can build a close bond with someone you work with and an even closer bond with someone you're trying to choke out."
Spreading that sense of camaraderie and empowerment is something that Takara is sharing with as many people as possible. The club is open to Local 340 members, as well as travelers, and their family members, even kids. Ward said he's planning to enroll his 5-year-old son, Remington, sometime next year.
Some jiu-jitsu principles are used in mixed martial arts, but jiu-jitsu doesn't involve the more aggressive MMA moves like kicking and punching. It's sometimes referred to as "the gentle art" because it emphasizes leverage, technique and efficiency over brute strength.
"I started training at an MMA club and found out really fast how much I did not like getting punched in the face, so my attention turned more toward grappling," said Takara, who is from Oahu, Hawaii. "Most of the time, I'm the smaller person in the room, and utilizing my techniques in jiu-jitsu, I'm able to defeat and submit a lot of the bigger athletes at the dojo. It's really empowering for someone like me who is smaller, not that athletic and on the older side of things."
Jiu-jitsu has also been called "human chess," due to its highly technical nature and how it encourages problem-solving and adaptability, attributes that also apply to electrical work, Takara said.
"You never know what your opponent will do, but there are numerous possibilities you're calculating and anticipating in your head. These quick-thinking skills can be attributed to wiremen as well, since we often have to troubleshoot on the fly to find the safest and best outcome."
Club members meet once a month for an open-mat session, and Takara said there are always new people who are interested. The number of attendees fluctuates, but it's increasing. There were four people at the first session and 14 at a recent meet-up, he said.
"The hardest part is showing up and walking through the gym doors," Takara said. "For those that do, it's usually their very first experience trying jiu-jitsu. I have to commend them for trying it because they're really stepping out of their comfort zone by attempting a combative sport."
Takara, who's also a member of Local 340's Electrical Workers Minority Caucus, said he makes sure to attend every union meeting to help spread the word, including that it's free thanks to his relationship with the Maxwell Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Sacramento, where they train.
"It's commendable that Troy has spent so much of his personal time to pass on his skills to our brothers and sisters," Ward said. "Anything that brings our members together outside the workplace makes all of us stronger."
It's a sentiment shared by Local 340 Training Director and jiu-jitsu club member Chris Tillery.
"I think the club does well what other clubs and organizations in our local do: It brings members and their families together to promote unity, brotherhood and sisterhood," he said. "It also gives members an introduction to the BJJ lifestyle that can not only help a member with their physical fitness, but also with their emotional well-being and self-confidence."
That Takara has the drive and discipline to compete as a black belt doesn't come as a surprise to his apprenticeship instructors.
"Troy was an outstanding apprentice in class. He was always engaged and asked pertinent questions that led to great conversation. You can tell that he really wanted to understand the material, no matter how complex it was," said fifth-year instructor Jacob Smith, who's also a club member. "He is definitely one of the best representatives of the values that 340 stands for."
For Takara, who has been training since 2006, the goal has always been to form a strong brotherhood within Local 340 by utilizing jiu-jitsu as a vessel.
"I love being a member of the IBEW. I like the people that I work with and meeting new members. We differ in ways like our ethnicity, age and background, but we're all working on a project together. It ties in with jiu-jitsu because the 'project' you're working on is personal development and growth within the sport. With jiu-jitsu, the more members I bring in, the more training partners I have to sharpen my skills. With the IBEW, the more electrical workers we organize, the stronger our union will become."