(Editor’s note: This story originally published at NorthJersey.com , part of the USA TODAY Network.) Jimmie Rivera lays on the mats at Tiger Schulmann’s Martial Arts in Elmwood Park, his bare feet raised up and pressed into Police Chief Michael Foligno’s thighs. Rivera, a professional mixed martial arts fighter from Newton, is demonstrating to two dozen men and women how to fend off an attacker while lying on the ground. The technique is particularly important because the people gathered here on a recent Tuesday afternoon are no ordinary students – they’re cops from Elmwood Park, here at their chief’s orders to learn how to better handle themselves on the street. “When someone knocks us down, we go to the hips for control,” Rivera yells, spinning himself like a dead bug on a tile floor as Foligno wheels left. “Keep your hips nice and loose. Use your feet! Extend your legs for power and push him off!” The officers study Rivera’s movements, then break into pairs to practice.
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