FRESH PROMOTIONS!
I wanted to give a shoutout here to Jake and Hendrick on earning their first stripes. Both have been consistent from the jump. Both are studious and thoughtful with technique, with Hendrick often showing up when he’s unable to train just to watch class, take notes, and film class for review. Tenzin also earned his second stripe, putting him halfway to Blue Belt. Tenzin has made so many positive changes in his life with the direction and motivation of Jiu-Jitsu. This is really the essence of Jiu-Jitsu; utilizing this martial art to enrich your life.
Keep training and focusing on improving a little bit every week, every day, and you will get better as a result. The stripe and belt promotions are just a reflection of that. Congrats to all three!
JIU-JITSU 101
Starting on July 4th we will be offering Jiu-Jitsu 101 on Tuesday evenings at 4:30 P.M. All members are welcome to take this class for free, and if you’ve been training for less than 6 months, I would highly recommend it. For those that have been training for longer, it might be a bit too rudimentary – but it’s never a bad thing to get more mat time, even if it’s just a refresher! Otherwise, if you know any friends, family, or coworkers that have expressed interest in training Jiu-Jitsu, this is the perfect way to get them started.
Jiu-Jitsu 101 is a four week course that is designed to get all participants fully acclimated to the movements, positions, concepts, and techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This course is tailored for the complete beginner, so no experience is required. We are limiting this course to ten spots to ensure all participants get as much one-on-one attention as possible. The entire course is $50, and that $50 can be applied towards any future membership.
We hope to see some members there … spread the word!
Fundamentals: on Monday we studied the Overhook position from Closed Guard, learning how to attack the Triangle and Choke and back to the Triangle when the Choke is properly defended. On Wednesday we learned the Catucada Sweep from when our opponent stands in our Closed Guard, as well as how to properly defend the Catucada Sweep. Friday we covered the Omoplata submission and how to escape by stepping over the head or utilizing our posture to free our arm.
Advanced: in our Advanced Classes this week we studied how to enter Headquarters from the De La Riva Position and attack the Leg Weave Pass. We also drilled entering the Torreando Pass from when our opponent denies our ability to step over the leg into Headquarters.
No Gi: in No Gi this week we studied entering into the Inverted North South position from top Half Guard, and finishing the Anaconda choke. We also learned how to transition from the Inverted North South to the Mount while finishing the Arm-In Guillotine from there.
It has been great watching the size of Kids’ Classes grow! New people on the mat always bring energy and a fresh perspective. This week we focused on breaking the grips and our opponent’s posture from bottom Closed Guard. We also repped the Catucada Sweep in response to our opponent posturing up and standing. In No Gi we practiced arm bars and sweeps from the guard. During positional drills, we worked our offense and defense from Closed Guard. While it can be challenging to execute the techniques we learn in class, the only way to get better is to keep trying. Each time we try, our attempt gets a little bit better until our persistence pays off and we succeed! Jiu-Jitsu is hard, but when something works, it is extremely rewarding.
Congratulations to Ayrton for earning his next stripe and to Valerie for achieving a new belt rank. Both of these athletes have displayed consistency in training, a positive attitude, and leadership skills.
Two weeks and Joao will be here in Madison! We hope you can all make it out, and you can still sign up via GymDesk through the link in our Instagram bio. There is also a sign-up sheet at the front desk if you’d like us to charge whatever account you have on file with us, otherwise you can talk to Jordan, Ryan, or Karen and we can get you taken care of.
Joao Miyao is one of the greatest competitors of his generation, and is still active on the Masters circuit today. He is truly a living legend of the sport and art. He has won essentially every major tournament in the Adult division and is now cleaning up most Masters divisions with his unique open guard, berimbolo, and baratoplata style. Him and his brother shot out of Cicero Costha’s Social Project making a name for themselves with their incredibly aggressive and dynamic guard style, revolutionizing the open guard and berimbolo game. Joao and Paulo just opened their own academy, Studio 1908, and will continue to contribute to the art in meaningful ways. I have been following Joao and his brother since they were Purple Belts and this is such an honor for me to announce, and an incredible opportunity to all that can make it out.
LUNCH RUSH! & THURSDAY FUNDAMENTALS
A reminder that we now have four new classes on the schedule! On Mondays and Wednesdays at noon, I will be running a Lunch Rush! class. This will be a fast-paced Gi Fundamentals class that will allow you to be in and out of the gym within an hour right in the middle of your day. It will be a great way to get in a workout, learn, and train some Jiu-Jitsu during your lunch hour.
Thursday evenings at 6:30 P.M. Coach Karen will be teaching a co-ed Gi Fundamentals class. This will be the same curriculum that we rotate through in all of our other Fundamentals classes and gives everyone an extra time slot to learn these essential techniques and get in some great positional training!
Finally, Fridays at 7 P.M. will now be a regular Competition Class. This class will alternate between Gi and No Gi week-to-week. We hope you can take advantage of these new classes and look forward to having you on the mats!