Jeric Fry has used the rigor and order of jiu-jitsu to find calm in his own life.

He started the nonprofit Veteran Bushido Brotherhood to see if it could help fellow veterans to also work through trauma, difficulty or hard times.

He showcased it for athletes across the region this spring at the Pittsburgh Sports Expo in Monroeville.

And later this month he will bring it to its largest potential crowd yet, holding the seventh annual “Barbershop Throwdown” at St. Clair Park in Greensburg.

“There’s an order to it, and there’s camaraderie,” said Kacey Crowley, 41, of Pine Township, Indiana County. Crowley’s teenage children have been taking jiu-jitsu classes in Indiana for the past seven years, and Crowley began three years ago.

“It definitely helps keep me sane,” she said. “It helped with managing (post-traumatic stress disorder) and keeping your mind focused.”

Fry, and eventually Kacey, were intrigued by the combat sport, which originated in Brazil. It’s focused on grappling, ground fighting and submission holds via joint locks or choke holds.

“There are so many different techniques, different movements, and there’s also the underlying respect among people who do it,” Crowley said. “Everyone has respect for the martial art, itself, and you have this brotherhood and the knowledge that you can be active but also safe on the mats with them.”

Fry, 37, of Irwin, who owns Straight Ahead Barbershop in Greensburg, said the first “Barbershop Throwdown” was what inspired him to found his nonprofit.

“We grew from Greensburg,” he said. “That’s where our base is located, plus Westmoreland County has 20,000 veterans. So what better place to grow our foundational event? And it’s right near my barber shop.”

Fry said bringing the friendly competition to a more-public space is a way to hopefully grow beyond the existing martial-arts community.

“It’s free — we want 5,000 people to show up,” he said. “But a $20 ticket gets them entered into the raffles we’re hosting. That’s our main fundraising tool, and the vendors will also be donating a portion of their proceeds.”

Fry said rather than the perhaps-intimidating atmosphere of a martial-arts gym, “we wanted to host a family-friendly event where people can hang out all day. So over the years we’ve added beer, music and other things.”

The event will also include a youth and white-belt tournament from 9-11 a.m. The main competition will start after, and the final event of the day is what Fry called the “Bear Cape” division.

“We have a bear cape — anyone under 200 pounds can enter — and the winner gets to keep the cape in their gym for a year,” he said.

Crowley is hoping her kids will take part in the youth tournament.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to find enough kids to make it work,” she said.

That’s just one more reason why Fry wanted to host it in the park.

“The focus is on getting as many people together at the same time to see jiu-jitsu and that community,” he said.

The “Barbershop Throwdown” will be at 9 a.m. Sept. 21 at St. Clair Park, 135 North Maple Ave. in Greensburg. For more on Veteran Bushido Brotherhood or for raffle tickets, see VetBushido.org/events.

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