FUJI MADISON OPEN
Everyone did amazing at the Fuji Madison Open this last weekend. We had a whole stable of competitors, with many ending up on the podium. Huge props to Caleb, Jacey, and Justus for competing for the first time!
Charlie took silver in his No Gi division, Kaleo took silver in his Gi and No Gi divisions. Jack Moles took gold in both his Gi and No Gi divisions with 100% submissions. Sam Johnson took gold in his Gi division – all by submission. Reid Graham took gold in his Gi division with 100% submissions, and bronze in his No Gi division with all but one match won by submission. Noah Kestler took gold in his Gi division. Justus Phalen fought all of his matches hard and was able to put some points on the board and even scored a submission in his first competition. Jacey and Caleb also did really well in their first competitions placing 3rd in their divisions, respectively.
RECENT PROMOTIONS
Congrats to our newest Blue Belt, Jack Moles. Jack came to us as an already-skilled grappler but has grown significantly in the year and a half that he has been training at Sanctuary. What is most impressive about Jack is his coachability, openness, and studious nature. He’s truly interested in learning the art of Jiu-Jitsu and applying it on the practice mats and in competition. Whenever he is training, I can tell that he is training to learn and grow, not simply to win the training round. This leads to growth on the practice mats and success on the competition mats. I look forward to seeing him continue to grow and succeed in the coming years!
Congrats to Caitlin West, Masha Bubela, Jared Pinkus, Apryl Berlanga, Reid Graham, Jon Correa, Francisco Lozano, Jonathan Moles, Jacey Gurtner, Phil Craig, and Eric Baumann on receiving new stripes. You’re all consistently training, putting in work, studying, training, and showcasing great attitudes, sportsmanship, and teamwork. Keep it up!
AMANDA BRUSE
We’re excited to announce our next seminar will be Amanda Bruse! The seminar will be on Saturday, September 20th at 10am. Amanda is a prominent athlete on the Atos team – being Black Belt under Andre Galvao. Amanda is known for her No Gi accomplishments, medalling in both the IBJJF Pan No Gi and World No Gi Championships, respectively.
The seminar will be No Gi and focused on the Front Headlock position, with an emphasis on the Anaconda and D’Arce chokes. The price will be $50 for Sanctuary members and $60 for non-members. You can sign up by clicking the respective links above.
IBJJF CHICAGO SUMMER OPEN
Next competition on deck! The IBJJF Chicago Summer Open will be on August 9th & 10th, and we already have a handful of people signed up. I’m so excited to see everyone step onto the blue & gold mats and showcase their Jiu-Jitsu. If you’re interested in competing, this would be a great competition to participate in as many of your team members will also be competing and the IBJJF is the gold standard in competition! You can sign up for this tournament through August 1st, so if you want to get it done you’d better get in!
Last week in Fundamentals we worked on attacking the Triangle Choke from various positions, with a focus on controlling the position before wildly attempting to finish the submission and subsequently losing both. We emphasized the importance of controlling the posture via the head after the catch and creating a closed circuit with our legs by controlling our shin to achieve a strong angle – allowing us to close our figure four and work on finishing the submission. We also worked some basics of defending the Triangle, and countering those defenses.
This last week in Kids’ Class we focused on how to properly shoot and catch the Triangle Choke position, emphasizing the importance of trapping the arm and lifting our hips to close the distance and make the connections with our partner that allow us to control them and progress our position. We also worked on how to finish the Triangle Choke by creating a strong angle. A huge congrats to Charlie on earning his new belt! Charlie has been consistently training and recently showcased his amazing Jiu-Jitsu and an even more amazing attitude at the most recent Fuji Madison Open competition. Charlie was able to make adjustments each match and immediately implement them. A very well-earned promotion! Also congrats to Abby on achieving her first stripe!