Category Archives: Kids Jiu Jitsu

Kids Jiu Jitsu

EDH BJJ Gray Belt Promotion | Kids Martial Arts

Gray Belt Promotion
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Chase earned his gray belt in just under three years of training after he started training with his father at El Dorado Hills Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Chase has a focused mind that pays close attention to detail and doesn’t hesitate to ask questions or stop and think before doing something.

His determined spirit to never give up, along with his technical improvements over time, has led him to where he is now.

We’re excited to see him continue to improve and move up into the junior bjj class in the next year or so!

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Kids Jiu Jitsu

Wim Hof Method in El Dorado Hills, CA

I am super excited to announce that we will be hosting a Wim Hof method workshop at EDH Jiu Jitsu next Sunday, March 18th from 9:30am-1pm! Reed Shelger is the owner of Paradigm Training Center in Houston, Texas and is coming to California to do several workshops and EDH Jiu Jitsu is the last stop of his west coast tour! Now, many of you are probably asking, “What the heck is Wim Hof?” Well, here is a little introduction to the Wim Hof method workshop:


“Discover the techniques of “The Iceman” and learn breathing, mindset and cold adaptation techniques that will help increase focus, boost recovery, enhance performance, and uncover the hidden abilities of your physiology. An incredibly simple, insanely effective and scientifically proven way to strengthen the cardiovascular system, and become the best athlete you can be.  Benefits include fat loss, improved cardio, reduced stress, among other health benefits.

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.

Combine the 3 pillars to unlock a multitude of benefits:

  • Improved immune system

  • Increased energy

  • Heightened focus & determination

  • Reduced stress levels

  • Dealing with fear and challenges

  • Improved sport performances

  • Better sleep

  • Greater cold tolerance


About Reed:

Reed Shelger is a former NCAA Division 1 wrestler (teammate of Jef Bristol) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor.  As a certified Wim Hof Method instructor, Reed Specializes in applying the Wim Hof Method to improve performance for martial artists and athletes.


THERE ARE ONLY 20 SPOTS AVAILABLE  SO REGISTER AT THE LINK BELOW TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT!!!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wim-hof-method-workshop-enhance-performance-for-martial-arts-athletes-tickets-43668183713


DETAILS:


  • Sunday, March 18th 9:30am-1pm

  • EDH Jiu Jitsu

  • $99 per person

  • 1 hour theory and science

  • 1 hour breathing and yoga

  • 1 hour for the ice bath

Coach Eliot

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Kids Jiu Jitsu

Van Robertson Seminar in El Dorado Hills Jiu Jitsu & Self Defense

Last month we had the honor of hosting a seminar at the academy for Van Robertson. It was a really neat experience as the attendees were mixed with adults and child practitioners.

Van taught variations of the Bull Fighter (also known as the Toreando) pass, with a very reactive and systematic approach. The passes primarily dealt with the guard player maintaining both grips on the sleeves of the guard passer. Using both sets of grips (on the guard player’s pants and their grips on the passer) she anchored their guard and switched grips on the legs in a specific manner that killed their ability to make space. There was more to it than that, but that’s what I took away from it in essence, besides the specific techniques that she taught.

The seminar was a donation based event where all the money made was donated to a non-profit brazilian jiu jitsu program in Oakland called Guardian. Guardian Jiu Jitsu is a martial arts program that funds children to train under the age of 18 with donations from their adult members and community events. We were able to raise just about $400 for the event.

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.

Van now lives and trains in Auckland, New Zealand, but we are lucky that her parents live here and that she comes and visits when she is in the area!

Coach Aaron

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Kids Jiu Jitsu

Teamwork in an individual sport and martial art

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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 jiujitsu.

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 through “tug of war” a team of strong individuals won’t beat a team of averaged strength individuals all working together. In doing so we talk about leadership, in this example the leader is the one getting everyone to pull all at once. We also talk about being led, in this case those that agree to all pull at the same time.

It’s intriguing to see the different personalities come out when we do these training sessions. Some follow, some lead, argue, quit, persevere, but in the end we all begin to see the strength and value in working together.

Kids Jiu Jitsu

Belt Promotion: PeeWee Class Gray-White belt

Sohan started Jiu-Jitsu with a strong spirit and work ethic. He was one of the first students to join the peewee class (a jiujitsu class for students age 4-6) in el dorado hills. In the year of training he has furthered his spirit with the ability to focus on a deeper level.

With his charisma and leadership qualities, others quickly follow in his path. As a result. with his development of focus, hustle, and technique, others also developed their sense of these qualities. Sohan is super spirited and competitive with all of the activities we integrate to learn the art of jiujitsu. We look forward to channeling his competitive spirit with focus and a positive attitude. Congrats!

Kids Jiu Jitsu

Belt Promotion: Gray-White Belt EDH Jiu Jitsu

Ben is a student in our juniors bjj class at el dorado hills. This is a class for kids age 10 to 17 and is a time when we begin to really challenge the students mentally and physically in class. Ben is never afraid of a challenge. He takes on a difficult task with courage and a humble attitude to learn from challenges. To Ben training with others who are much bigger or stronger than him is an opportunity to improve.

His natural talent to move on the mat was very apparent when he first started. Especially his good body control and balance. With time, he developed more skills that gave him the ability to control others using technique. In his technical development Ben has embraced attacks from all positions and continues to be “well balanced” in his Jiu-Jitsu development! Congrats!

Kids Jiu Jitsu

New Jiu-Jitsu Class for ages 4 to 6 in El Dorado Hills

We are starting a new section for our Pee Wee aged (age 4-6) Jiu Jitsu class. The class is on Tuesday and Saturday and therefore, it’s titled TS PeeWee Jiu Jitsu. We are open for enrollment and look forward to new trials starting on their fun jiu jitsu adventure.

In the class we focus on learning through fun and play and make special care to emphasize collaboration, teamwork, and learning through social play. Our curriculum is set with an understanding that consistent training of 2 times a week will lead to technical improvement but more importantly, an improvement in their ability to learn how to learn.

BJJ demo in Folsom with peewee student and Dad

Parent participation is not mandatory, but we welcome parents who are interested in coaching to join us on the mat. All we ask is that you wear proper uniform attire and are willing to work with all of the students in the class.

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Kids Jiu Jitsu

New Classes & New Schedule at El Dorado Hills Jiu Jitsu

EDH Jiu Jitsu is adding two new classes during the weekly training cycle in 2018! We welcome students with a curiosity to learn and understand the grappling arts of jiu jitsu, wrestling, judo and the like. Our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial arts program is a one of a kind in El Dorado Hills, with  age appropriate curriculums for toddlers, kids, teens, and adults. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to start with a FIVE day FIVE dollar trial!

TS Pee Wee Jiu Jitsu Class (age 4-6)

The PeeWee Jiu-Jitsu Class is a class for toddlers to learn through fun, work with different coaches, socialize with their peers, and develop skills that will help them off the mat. The new class is on Tuesday at 3:30pm and Saturday at 9:10am.

MW Adult Basics Jiu Jitsu (age 17+)

The Adult Basics class is a perfect class for adults that are beginning jiu jitsu or looking to get back into jiu jitsu but need a little time to get the body back in shape before training in the advanced class. Our jiujitsu program makes an emphasis in learning and drilling the technical positions and movements before participating in any uncontrolled sparring situations. This allows the student to build a skill set of moves and develop an understanding of what is possible on the mat. Once these skills are acquired, the adult student is welcome to engage in different sparring situations.

We have students with successful weight loss testimonies, students who have found ways to deal with stress, and others who finally found a life long hobby. All are welcome to start with our five day five dollar trial!

 

Adults Jiu Jitsu, community, Kids Jiu Jitsu

Community Service: Making & Giving Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

As we enter this season of giving, many of us search for ways to engage actively in giving. How can we truly participate in this process? We can donate food and toys, we can give money to charitable organizations; there are so many choices! As altruistic and generous as the act of donating is, as a parent I look for ways that my family can work together to share what we have with others in a meaningful way. I want to put the food or toys in the hands of those that need them. But how can a family with young children do this? How can a jiu jitsu school with over 100 students ranging from age 4 to 60+ do this?
One way is to host a PBJ event: a simple and easy way to engage your family and community in an act of giving that puts food in the hands of those who need it most!
Step One: Gather your people! Advertise! Shout it from the rooftops! Tell your students and friends to tell THEIR people! All are welcome and the more hands on deck, the better.
Step Two: Gather the goods! Your basic requests are bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Bread is the limiting factor so it’s best to ask people to bring at LEAST two loaves of bread each, along with a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly. Some items to consider: plastic knives, plastic sandwich bags, and paper bags to put sandwiches in. You can request these from participants, you can ask for donations from local stores or companies (grocery stores are great for these types of donations!), or you can provide them yourself.
Step Three: Market, market, market! Social media, local community boards, coffee shops…get the word out! Because this kind of event has no age limit, encourage families to come. Tell them to bring their friends. Local Girl/Boy Scout troops may need a service project and this is perfect!
Step Four: Sling sammys! Set up tables or just lay tablecloths on your floor space. You’ll want each sandwich to go into a plastic bag and then 6-7 sandwiches to go into a brown paper bag. Offer wet wipes so people can wipe peanut butter and jelly off their hands. At about half way through the allotted time, encourage people not to open new jars of peanut butter and jelly until the open jars are empty. Unopened jars can be donated to local food banks, but opened jars need to go home with participants or tossed.
Step Five: Distribute! Go to a local area with a large homeless community. Often, this is near shelters, soup kitchens or other resources. Pack the brown bags full of sandwiches into bigger bags and encourage your participants to walk around and offer sandwiches to anyone who might want some. People may approach you and ask what you have. Offer a smile, dignity, and respect. They are appreciated just as much as food.
Step Six: Regroup! Ask your participants what they thought. How did they feel? Did they notice anything in particular? How would they do it differently next time? You may have heard people asking for certain items as they received the sandwiches…maybe you can do a drive to collect those items next time?
A PB&J event is a unique way to get into the community and give people a way to get to bed with food in their belly and wake up to food for breakfast. You will not walk away from it unaffected by the people you’ve served and it will offer you a jumping off point to talk to participants of all ages about gratitude, perspective, and mutual respect. Participating in this kind of event should leave everyone with a sense of pride in their ability to serve those who need it most, but also questioning how they can help more.
Adults Jiu Jitsu, Kids Jiu Jitsu

Jiu Jitsu is more than learning technique it’s discovering what works for you

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an interesting blend of learning and training. Students can go online and login to a training website to study movements and techniques. Students can also watch jiujitsu on flograppling, youtube and instagram to learn from their favorite athletes or coaches.

The most important element of bridging the gap from learning a variety of techniques and drilling them methodically to successfully executing them in practice or competition exists in self awareness.

Self awareness for your own personal style of jiujitsu. This comes from multiple places.

  1. Personality
  2. Body type
  3. Athletic ability
  4. Mobility / flexibility

There are universal concepts in jiu-jitsu that exist as a result of human mechanics and physics, but there also exists efficient movements that make a difference in how you are able to move efficiently. While your initial pursuit of jiujitsu might exist in learning the fundamental concepts and the basic understanding of different positions and movements, there will eventually be a need to practice what works best for your body.

At EDH Jiu Jitsu we have a weekly question and answer class that allows students to better understand those unique positions under some guidance from an instructor. While discovering what works for you is an individual development, it is very helpful to have a coach or training partner to ask and think about specific positions. The Q&A class allows the students to ask those questions and from there drill them. In the drilling process more questions may arise and it’s acceptable to ask more questions based on the feedback you receive from your drilling.

Ultimately, what jiu-jitsu is striving for is a higher, enlightened level of awareness. An awareness of the dangers of specific positions and what prevents their execution. An awareness of where your strengths are and how you can bring the “game” back to that position to better control the match. An awareness of the style of jiujitsu you play and the need to embrace that style when you are rolling or in competition.

Therefore, strive for awareness. Take the time to ask questions on the mat. Something to keep in mind when taking steps to better awarenss is the THREE R’s. Something we emphasize at El Dorado Hills Jiu Jitsu.

  • Reflect
  • Review
  • Refine

Reflect on your previous performances and ask questions. Review the adjustments with a training parter or a coach. Refine the adjustments while you are rolling and drilling. This process loops back to the beginning as you refine your technique you should be reflecting on the movements and thinking about the strengths and weakness of the position.

Make Progress

Eliot Kelly