{"id":27550,"date":"2022-01-08T22:14:29","date_gmt":"2022-01-08T22:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=27550"},"modified":"2022-01-08T22:14:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T22:14:29","slug":"milwaukee-program-fights-trauma-with-martial-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/01\/08\/milwaukee-program-fights-trauma-with-martial-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee program fights trauma with martial arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

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MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 When Amber Tucker went through a traumatic event, she didn\u2019t fight.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t flee.<\/p>\n

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She froze.<\/p>\n

That was her automatic response, but she said it wasn\u2019t the one she wanted. She was \u201cvery upset\u201d with herself.<\/p>\n

But through martial arts, she said she\u2019s been able to restore a sense of control over her body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the fight, flight or freeze response that\u2019s automatically hardwired into our brain for survival,\u201d she said. \u201cI was able to rewire that response, so now my trauma response is fight not freeze.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker is part of a Milwaukee pilot research program called Restorative Justice in Movement, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. She is an associate professor of sociology at Cardinal Stritch University. Marquette University is also part of the research team.<\/p>\n

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The program includes clinics on jiujitsu, rock climbing and powerlifting, Tucker said. The researchers, who participate in these programs themselves, want to offer a new way of thinking about the mind-body connection \u2014 they want to use movement to help handle trauma.<\/p>\n


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Tucker was a single mother who felt the effects of the criminal justice system on her loved ones, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reported. The program aims to bring in women of color who have been incarcerated themselves or affected by having loved ones who are incarcerated.<\/p>\n

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Funding for this research comes from the Marquette\u2019s Institute for Women\u2019s Leadership and the President\u2019s Challenge for Racial Justice and Equity Response.<\/p>\n

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Restorative Justice in Movement has also partnered with the Milwaukee Turners as the program tries to \u201cpromote gender equity, community empowerment, and collective healing from trauma,\u201d according to a Marquette announcement.<\/p>\n

Tucker said there is \u201cemerging\u201d research on how martial arts can help trauma. She also mentioned new research on having combat veterans with PTSD try jiujitsu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is restoring the connection between the mind and body that is often lost in the experience of trauma,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is one of the disempowering aspects \u2014 that you lose a sense of control over that moment and over yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jiujitsu specifically helps Tucker because she said it\u2019s an \u201cintellectual sport.\u201d Some might look at this program and think they\u2019re not athletic enough for sports, but jiujitsu is about anticipating responses.<\/p>\n

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Those skills can transfer to high-stress situations in real life, she said. Jiujitsu gives her the confidence to trust her body again \u2014 trust that her body will follow what her mind wants it to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, you learn to slow down and actually think rather than responding out of fear or a loss of a sense of control or safety,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, she said jiujitsu includes fighting on your back, a metaphor suggesting that being down doesn\u2019t mean the fight has to be over. It\u2019s empowering, and she said children who learn the right technique can overpower adults in these clinics.<\/p>\n

These physical acts are reframing how people can think of sports. Tucker said sports typically have masculine connotations, but what does it really mean to be \u201cstrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

In powerlifting, for example, Tucker said some of the strongest women in the world don\u2019t fit the traditional look of \u201cstrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The range of activities that can address trauma includes much more beyond what\u2019s in this program.<\/p>\n

One caller into the segment on Wisconsin Public Radio’s \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d said she was 70 years old and struggled with arthritis. She said she practices tai chi, which helps her mental strength and balance.<\/p>\n