The chief of the Bargersville Fire Department and an officer from the town’s police department are preparing to fight each other — all for a good cause.
Justin Griggs, a sergeant with the Bargersville Police Department and Jason Ramey, the fire chief, will battle each other in a charity boxing and jiu-jitsu event called the the 911 Slugfest. They will be a featured match in jiu-jitsu.
The Saturday event features first responders from across the state participating in mostly boxing matches. Money earned from the event goes to the Little Wish Foundation, which provides needs and wants to sick children.
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Griggs and Ramey both train in jiu-jitsu at local gyms that teach the techniques of the Brazilian martial art. They use jiu-jitsu as a way to stay in shape and have been hobbyists of the art, training a few times a week for years and occasionally competing in other matches.
They sometimes train together and decided to participate in the match after having done the boxing portion before, Griggs said.
Having two representatives from both the Bargersville fire department and police department should be a draw to the event, he said.
“It seemed like we could sell some tickets,” Griggs said.
Most of the event will feature boxing competitions, however.
Both Griggs and Ramey have participated in the boxing portion of the event before, but they wanted to showcase jiu-jitsu as an art and hope that their bout can draw some fans and expand the jiu-jitsu part of the event, Ramey said.
“We thought it would be cool to showcase what we do for the fans,” he said.
The duo will compete in a three one-minute rounds, which is typical for a match, Ramey said.
Jiu-jitsu focuses on ground fighting and hand-to-hand combat. The art was picked up by Ramey because it is a fun way to stay in shape, he said.
“It is such a great work out,” he said.
The martial art is also popular training with first responders, and other careers, such as nursing, since a match requires participants to stay calm and relaxed in a stressful situation, which is a tenet of a first responder’s job, Ramey said.
“It translates to the work we do, to relax in bad situations,” he said.
And helping the charity is a draw, since all the money will go toward the non-profit foundation that helps sick children get something that will make their life easier, Griggs said.
“What drew me back to the event was helping the foundation,” he said.
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What: 911 Slugfest
When: Doors open at 5:30 p.m., matches start at 7 p.m., Saturday.
Where: Tyndall Armory, 711 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis.
Cost: Tickets range from $10 to $35. Proceeds go toward the Little Wish Foundation
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