A Rising Tide …
Here at Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu, we’re committed to bringing our members and the larger Jiu-Jitsu community high quality seminars and clinics. Jiu-Jitsu is so large, and growing faster by the day. No one academy, teacher, competitor, or curriculum can “have it all.” For that reason we need to constantly be bringing in instructors, academy owners, and competitors that refine and expand what we teach here at Sanctuary. In the last quarter of 2024 we had some great seminars and clinics!
Professor Caio Terra
Every year we bring in our Professor, Caio Terra. This year he arrived in late October and taught two days of incredible, techincal, and conceptual Jiu-Jitsu. A footlock in the gi for the first day, and back attacks for no gi on the second day. This seminar also coincided with our fifth year anniversary as an academy so we hosted a special Open Mat for that occasion and had food catered in from Tex Tubb’s Tacos for our friends, family, and members to celebrate with us.
Every time I’m able to learn from and train with Professor Caio, I’m always struck not only by the breadth of his knowledge but also the depth. When he’s teaching a technique, he’s not just teaching that individual technique. He’s teaching the concepts underlying the technique, that reach across all of Jiu-Jitsu. But most importantly: he’s teaching about how to think about Jiu-Jitsu, and how to approach studying, training, and competing. He communicates these conceptual connections very explicitly and his seminars are always jam-packed with what can only be described as epiphany moments. If you’ve never had the opportunity to learn from Professor Caio, I highly suggest coming next year!
GUEST INSTRUCTOR SERIES VOL. IV
We haven’t hosted a clinic in our Guest Instructor Series for quite some time, so we were very overdue. We were also overdue in hosting this particular instructor, because he was one of the first that came to my mind when I first conceived of the idea. Kain Rizzo of Capital City MMA & BJJ has been in the Madison and larger Midwest Jiu-Jitsu scene for decades. When I started training in 2002, there was already buzz surrounding his name, ability, and accomplishments as a competitor. He has since gone on to become a successful instructor, coach, and academy owner.
If you’ve ever trained with Kain, you know what he excels in; and that’s what I wanted him to teach the most: the guillotine. Kain taught basic defensive movement, multiple entries, and finishes to the guillotine. What was most impressive was his ability to seamlessly progress his instruction in a linear fashion from one technique to the next. Focusing on important details while not losing sight of the bigger picture. He is one of the most clear, concise, and effective instructors I’ve ever been in a room with. He provides immediate and actionable instruction and feedback that you can apply to your game.
It was truly an honor to be able to host Kain and his students for this clinic. Jiu-Jitsu has come a long way since the early 2000s, not just in terms of size but also in terms of approach, attitude, and philosophy. Whereas some teams in the same city might see each other as competitors or even unfriendly rivals, it is much healthier and more productive to approach other teams, academies, and instructors from a collaborative perspective. We all train Jiu-Jitsu and we can all learn from and compliment each others approach. Every academy and instructor is different – to be sure. But that’s a positive thing, because no one is the final authority on Jiu-Jitsu and we can all learn and grow from training and learning from each other. All of the coaches, athletes, and students at Capital City MMA / BJJ are incredibly gracious, generous, and genuinely good people and it was a pleasure sharing the mats with all of them. I look forward to having them all back for another clinic in the future!
Coach P
Back in late April as Coaches Karen & Ryan, as well as Black Belt Matt Poster, were competing in the IBJJF Spring Chicago Open we met and connected with Coach Patrick Teruel of NEO BJJ. He was in Matt’s division – eventually going on to win the division – and he and his family happened to be camping out in the stands directly in front of our group! We somehow struck up a conversation and he expressed to me his general vision of Jiu-Jitsu, academy ownership, and leadership. I was really impressed by Patrick’s genuine nature, generosity, and kindness as well as his dedication to the art and sport of Jiu-Jitsu. I knew I would end up reaching out to him to see if he wanted to visit our academy for a seminar. I checked out his social media and was even more impressed with what I saw: this guy talks the talk and walks the walk! I reached out and he was incredibly eager to get something on the books and plan a seminar in Madison. As soon as I reached out Patrick – or Coach P as his students and athletes know him – informed me that he is most passionate about coaching and teaching Kids / Youth. Right away he suggested doing a Kids / Youth seminar to which we enthusiastically agreed as we had never hosted one before!
The first day Coach P taught a Kids / Youth Seminar and covered a variety of movements and techniques that all expressed the same concepts. From the sweep single to the guard pass and back take to pulling guard, off-balancing, and attacking submissions Coach P got our kids to perform complex movements and techniques in a short period of time while maintaining an incredibly positive and encouraging attitude. It was two very engaging hours of technique, drilling, and rolling. Everyone had a blast and learned a ton!
The second day was the Adult Seminar where Coach P taught his passing system. He connected several passes: the torreando, leg drag, leg weave, knee cut, and finally ended with his signature pass: the anchor pass. Just like with the Kids Seminar, Coach P was able to each dozens of techniques by communicating movement and concepts so it all felt natural and seamless. He finished the seminar by teaching connections to the back and various submissions as well as an open-ended Q&A and rolling.
A huge thanks to Coach P for coming out to Madison and sharing his Jiu-Jitsu with us, as well as his leadership and coaching skills. We all learned a lot and would love to have him back in the years to come!
2025!
We will continue to work hard to bring in not just the biggest names and most sought-after instructors in Jiu-Jitsu but also the many hidden gems and unsung heroes of our art and sport. There are a lot of amazing people out there with so much talent, skill, generosity, and kindness that share our vision of Jiu-Jitsu and what Jiu-Jitsu culture can and should be. We will have a full roster of these coming in 2025, so make sure to keep your eyes out for next years seminars, and we hope to see you in attendance!