My first class as a black belt

My first class as a black belt

Since I got my black belt last month, people have been very cool about asking me questions about the various firsts associated with this milestone. Today I want to tell you about my first class at black belt. The reason I want to tell you about this: people have been asking what I chose to show during my first-ever class at this rank. The answer. I didn’t teach anything. I took the class, and I took it from my good friend and partner David Porter, who has an extensive library of techniques at his disposal. What kind of wizardry did Read more »

New schedule, featuring 6 a.m. classes twice a week

New schedule, featuring 6 a.m. classes twice a week

We’re growing all the time, and always trying to optimize our schedule for student needs. Starting this morning, Jan. 13, we’re training from 6 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays … a class we’re calling Dawn Patrol. Today was amazing! Despite snow preventing several folks from attending, 25 people came to day one. Some had to leave early to get to work, which is fine — we do warmups and technique until 6:45 or 7, then spar until 7:30ish, so come when you can and leave when you need to. I’ve always loved teaching early morning classes. You Read more »

What Jiu-Jitsu Means To Me

What Jiu-Jitsu Means To Me

Prior to my black belt test, my instructor Seth Shamp asked me to write something that expressed what jiu-jitsu — the art itself, as well as the journey I’ve been on — means to me. This is what I wrote. At the end of the post, you can see a video of my black belt speech and listen to a podcast we did about the journey.— Jeff My life is jiu-jitsu, and jiu-jitsu is my life. I mean that both literally (I train and teach and learn jiu-jitsu constantly), but also metaphorically. For me, jiu-jitsu is a philosophy, a way Read more »

19 Memories of 2019

19 Memories of 2019

We can hardly believe 2019 has mere hours left on the clock. It’s been a whirlwind, from the lead-up to our opening on May 1 to the final classes on New Year’s Eve (still coming tonight). This is more than a jiu-jitsu academy to us. It’s our living room, a place where we get together with our chosen community to train, improve our lives, and have a blast. The great Marcelo Garcia once said that he’d never claim to be the best ever, but he would say that nobody loves jiu-jitsu more than he does. Nobody loves doing this more Read more »