NEW BLUE BELT
Congrats to Richard on earning his Blue Belt! Richard has been with us for a little over two years and has trained consistently and eagerly throughout that time. He always has an amazing attitude and is one of the most positive people at the gym. He’s always down for a scrap and his high-level movement is reflective of that! We all look forward to seeing him grow into his Blue Belt … and beyond! Congrats again, Richard!
JIU-JITSU IN THE PARK
Our Third Annual Jiu-Jitsu in the Park Open Mat & BBQ was a blast! Thanks to everyone who beat the heat, made it out, trained, hung out, and contributed! Big thanks to Liz, Alyson, and Jaden for making and sharing some absolutely delicious dessert bars!
If you were unable to make it this year, there’s always next year and …
JULY 4th OPEN MAT
This Friday is July 4th! That means there will be NO CLASSES that day. Instead we will host an Open mat from 10am – noon. These holiday Open Mats are always popular, tons of fun, and have a lot of people from other academies in town. Our Holiday Open Mats – like all of our Open Mats! – are always free and open to all! We hope you can make it in, invite some friends from other gyms, and come train!
FUJI / IBJJF
Fuji Madison is coming up on July 12th, and is a perfect warm-up for the IBJJF Chicago on August 9th & 10th.
Early and Normal Registration for Fuji has ended, but Late Registration ends July 8th … so there’s still time!
Early Registration for IBJJF ends on July 11th, and Late Registration ends on August 1st.
If you’re planning on doing the IBJJF competition, I would recommend doing Fuji as well. Fuji’s ruleset is very similar and prepare you for the IBJJF. 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!
We 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.
Fundamentals: last week in Fundamentals we worked pulling to Closed Guard and attacking/defending the Armlock (Monday); defending inside position off of the Guard pull and attacking the X Pass, as well as studying the concept of the Anchor Hand to retain and recover our Guard (Wednesday); and once we are past the Guard, looking for ways to attack the Back and respond to our partners defense by attacking the Katagatame Choke (Friday).
Advanced: in Advanced class we studied trapping our opponents leg with the same side lapel in De La Riva so we can effectively attack the Single Leg from Shin-on-Shin or enter into an incredibly strong DLX position in order to off-balance, sweep overhead, or attack the Back.
No Gi: in No Gi we studied attacking the Truck position into a Calf Slicer and RNC (Tuesday & Wednesday), controlling the Open Guard and connecting to Shin-on-Shin (Thursday), and routes and finishes to the Katagatame choke (Friday).
This week in Kids’ Class, we played a new game to learn about getting the grips we want! We also worked on sleeve drags to the back, maintaining the back position, and variations of the rear naked choke. We continue to work as a team, which can be seen when our students help out those new to the gym or remind each other of gym etiquette. Congratulations to Brooke, Charlie, Viggo, and Rachel on earning their next stripe! Consistency, leadership skills, and hard work pay off!