Passing the pear. We got the pear cards out today after the 11am class at el dorado hills jiujitsu. The pear cards are a great discussion starter with over 100 different prompts, the cards act as a fun way to talk about something and get positive communication going between people.
While we focus a majority of our time training and learning the art of jiujitsu as a martial art, there is so much opportunity to learn about each other and talk about different things. This was a fun card we just randomly pulled from the deck.
At EDH Jiu Jitsu we look to do more than just be a martial art school. It is our mission to make a difference in our community. The difference starts with with positive interactions and communication with one another.
Dave has challenged himself on the mat with tournaments, asking questions, video study and is also working on a community service drive, collecting supplies for the Sacramento Children’s Home.
I am super excited to announce that we will be hosting a Wim Hof method workshop at EDH Jiu Jitsu next 
What is the Wim Hof Method? The Wim Hof Method is a way to tap into the hidden power of oxygen and cold exposure; two natural resources that used to be part of our everyday lives throughout most of our evolutionary history, but that have been almost completely lost to the comforts of modern society. With the WHM you can unlock the potential inside yourself, and open the door to an array of health benefits. The Wim Hof Method rests on three distinct pillars: Breathing, Cold exposure & Commitment.
On February 25
I was the first one from our team to compete, and I was pretty nervous. It was my first tournament at Black Belt and my first match was against a former training partner of mine. I was happy to pull guard cleanly and have to opportunity to play my game. As I was pummeling for grips he pressed my guard and kept me on my back. I was getting passed and I bridged and came on top… well sort of. He locked a triangle and did my best to defend it and he was able to secure a nice wrist-lock. It was a hard first lesson at Black Belt, but you have to start somewhere.
After my match, I walked down Height Street and placed this experience in the context of my life. Even when you lose, there is a special place in your past as a person that put it all out there.
Van taught variations of the
If you have the opportunity to train with or learn from Van in the future we highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity. She is detailed, thoughtful, and engages with learners in a fun and active way.
Individual sports and martial arts are unique in that they often require an immense amount of teamwork to build a successful individual performance or development. This concept is unique in individual sports because in the heat of the moment only one person is responsible for the success and failure of the battle. However, to prepare and execute in battle it takes an entire team to do so. In life, just like in these individual sports, there are individual responsibilities that contribute to the success of the entire group. The ability to recognize your individual responsibility and contribute to the team is essential. This contribution might come in the form of being a leader, a follower, a silent voice of action, or mustering people together with your words and action. Needless to say we work on both of these skills on the mat at edh 
Only those that work together can be the strongest! Here, we aren’t just building grip and leg strength. At our martial arts academy in El Dorado Hills we don’t just teach technical and physical skills, we also teach skills of collaboration and working with others. This is a skill that is important on the mat but even more important in life off of the mat. One example of teamwork being taught is t
In December Jarrod led a community sock drive, collecting over a thousand pairs of socks for the homeless. He brought an awareness for a need that the community might overlook. We appreciate his attention to detail in noticing where different needs exist in our community and finding ways to fill them!
Javen has embraced learning both skills of training and implementing jiujitsu as well as the art of teaching and leading. In addition to jiu-jitsu, he excels in his academics at Oak Ridge high school and pursues his passion in music and the language arts in his spare time.