Generally speaking, when you’re a White Belt you should be honing your defenses; looking to survive and maybe attack when you’re able. When you’re a Blue Belt you should be looking to deepen your defensive abilities while also starting to develop a breadth of offensive options. When you’re a Purple Belt you should really start honing in on a very specific game – let’s call it building depth of offensive options – and starting to not only specialize in that game but also develop the ability to funnel most people into your attacks with success of entry and outcome. At Brown Belt you should be applying that same depth to a broader variety of defensive and offensive games. At Black Belt you’re essentially starting all over again and looking for maximum efficiency and minimal effort to everything that you do. You will progress through these belt levels naturally through studying, drilling, training, and competing. Our Curriculum Test will ensure that you are retaining the breadth and depth of technical and conceptual knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu along the way, in order to not only become a skilled and well-rounded grappler, but also a leader able to impart this knowledge to others.
Karen has been an exemplary example of this general framework at every belt level and continues to show incredible progress in her development, application, and service to others. In the last year her maturity in competition and her leadership at the academy have truly shown that she is well on her way to Black Belt. She trains, teaches, and studies every single day and her efforts are always paying dividends on and off the mats; both in her own Jiu-Jitsu but also in the Jiu-Jitsu of her many students (including me!). Congrats, Karen!
Congrats to Tom on being the most recent CTA Blue Belt. Tom has been training for a little over two years after taking a bit of a break. I think Tom is an excellent example of the power of persistence and enthusiasm to study and succeed. Many people would have quit and not come back to the mats after an extended time off, but Tom not only came back: he came back, applied himself rigorously and consistently, and earned his Blue Belt. Congrats, Tom!
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Dom Bell Waiter Guard seminar this last weekend! It was everything we expected, and more. Prof. Bell is truly a remarkable instructor with some of the smoothest and most technical Jiu-Jitsu around. We are incredibly grateful to have been able to share the mats with him. Personally, I learned so much about Jiu-Jitsu and more importantly, the communication of Jiu-Jitsu.
To top it all off Prof. Bell is one of the kindest and most generous human beings in the scene. If you’re not already learning from him: you should be! We’re certain to have him back in the future so stay tuned!
Our Third Annual Jiu-Jitsu in the Park Open Mat & Cookout is here! This is always a good time with friends, family, and all of our wonderful members. Grillmaster Ryan will be cooking up a storm while you work up an appetite on the mats or socializing with friends. This event is exclusively for Sanctuary members (and their guests!) and we ask that you RSVP here.
It will be held rain or shine at the Warner Park Rainbow Shelter on Sunday, June 29th starting at around noon. Because of this event there will be no Women’s Class on this Sunday. Like all of our Open Mats, feel free to bring a Gi or No Gi gear, it’s totally up to you. If you’re not into rolling, that’s totally cool: come and eat some food and hang out. We hope all of you can make this!
Women’s Class on Sundays has been rescheduled from starting at noon to starting at 10:30am. We hope that this will allow more people to attend and still enjoy the majority of their Sunday! Remember that every third Sunday of the month is Women’s Open Mat. On that day, the Open Mat will start at 10am, just like our Saturday Open Mat. If you have friends that train at other academies, please welcome them to this Open Mat! If you have any questions, please contact Karen.
Fuji Madison is coming up on July 12th, and is a perfect warm-up for the IBJJF Chicago on August 9th & 10th. I would honestly recommend doing both, as their rulesets are very similar and one will prepare you for the other. We’d like to make big showings at both of these so if you’re on the fence about competing, please let me know and we can discuss your concerns and hopefully get you out there on the competition mats! As usual we will have signup sheets at the front desk for these tournaments but you will still have to officially register yourself here for Fuji and here for IBJJF if you are planning on competing.
In kids’ class we’ve been working on what it means to be a good partner — helping each other learn, staying safe, and showing respect on and off the mat. We are also focusing on movement: how to escape tough spots and how to secure positions. Remember, showing up consistently, putting in the time, and bringing a positive attitude will help you grow. It’s not about winning — celebrate the progress you are making every step of the way!
We’d like to welcome Lena, Abby, Eliana, Tatum, and Roland to the team and extend a big congratulations to Aria, Aaron, Jace, Weston, Mya, Jackson, Gabe, River, and Viggo for their stripe promotions and to Chandler and Ceci for earning their next belts! Keep up the amazing work!
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