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Spring Belt Promotions

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Spring is a  time of change. El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will be hosting the 2016 Spring Belt Promotions on Tuesday, March 1st.

Belt promotions are done differently at each school, in EDH we celebrate the occasion by saying a few things about each student when they change belts. Many students overcome many different obstacles and triumphs to earn their belt and the ceremony is an appropriate occasion to share each story.

Along with a new belt comes new challenges. These challenges can only be overcome with the training of a team of people that are willing to help one another. As people change their belts, it’s great to see their friends, training partners, and family who were there with them supporting their training. We hope to see everyone on Tuesday night in their best gi!

SJJIF World Champion

El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had three competitors participate in the SJJIF (Sport Jiu Jitsu International Federation) World Championships at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA. This event was the pinnacle event for the SJJIF, where it crowned the World Champion for 2015! The World Championships featured competitors from all over the world including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, European countries, Japan and other Asian countries. Zack, Sean and Eliot put together an excellent performance to finish up the year.

Sean Gonsolin wins Silver at the SJJIF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sean Gonsolin wins Silver at the SJJIF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Zack won his first round and lost to the eventual champion in the second round of the World Championships. He wasn’t satisfied with the results, but is motivated even more to come back a better competitor.

Sean had a mean streak, finishing his opponent in the semi final with a bicep slicer submission. In the finals he matched up with a rival competitor who trains out of Las Vegas. They had an impressive back and forth match with Sean falling short of the victory in the last few seconds of the match.

Eliot had a perfect tournament finishing his opponent in the finals with a knee bar to become the 2015 SJJIF World Champion. “This was a really exciting tournament getting ready. Sean was really optimistic even when we were in the most grueling phase of our training, and that kept things fun.”

Congratulations to the EDH Jiu Jitsu grapplers for bringing home some World Medals!

IBJJF American Nationals at the UFC Expo in Las Vegas

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James Puopolo v Eliot Kelly NoGi absolute finals

This year the IBJJF American Nationals took place in Las Vegas with the UFC International Expo. The event show cased the best martial artists in jiujitsu, wrestling, tae kwon do, karate, judo, and other types of cross fit competitions. The event culminated with the McGregor v Mendes fight. The event was an exciting step in jiu-jitsu as it joins forces with the UFC and MMA community. Hosting the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation tournaments in conjunction with the UFC expo will only help educate MMA fans on the details and excitement of jiu-jitsu.

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NoGi Super Heavy weight podium

The American Nationals featured jiujitsu competitors from all over the globe. The event featured two tournaments, one in the gi and one nogi. The tournament also featured the Kids American Nationals, one of the premiere IBJJF Kids tournaments of the year.

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NoGi Absolute podium

Eliot represented the team from El Dorado Hills. The first day was composed of theNoGi tournament. Eliot finished with a double silver making it to the finals in the weight division and absolute (all weights combined) open weight division. The second day was composed of the tournament in the gi. Eliot finished with a silver in his weight division, again making it into the finals of the tournament. In the absolute (all weights combined) open weight division Eliot fell short in the semi-final, finishing with a bronze.

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Eliot Kelly beats Guyson Sa in the quarter finals of the absolute division

Eliot finished the two day American Nationals with 9 matches 5 in the nogi and 4 in the gi. “The tournament was great! There were warm up mats, great organization, and a lot of action all day long. It was a bitter sweet experience for me as a competitor because I made it to the finals in three different occasions, but I wasn’t able to get the gold. Needless to say I learned from my mistakes and I’m excited for the next opportunity to compete!”

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Gi Super Heavy Weight Podium
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Gi Absolute Podium

 

Ladies Only Self Defense Class in El Dorado Hills

_MG_7286El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu hosted it’s third Ladies Only Self Defense Jiu Jitsu Class on Sunday, July 19th. The class was a free community class for those in the El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Cameron Park and in general the greater Sacramento area.

_MG_7304The group that gathered came from various backgrounds of having 5 years of jiujitsu experience to those who knew nothing about jiujitsu. We had participants from the age of 10 all the way to 48.

The class focused on practicing fundamental movements in jiu-jitsu and learning how to apply those movements in self-defense situations. In addition to simply practicing, the class ended with a simulation exercise to put the technique into application. The ladies were challenged to use the technique and escape while held down by someone with full resistance.

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The class was a healthy mixture of learning about self defense jiujitsu, having fun through movement, and becoming more aware of different self defense situations. In discussion we talked about the other essential aspects of self-defense as well; dietary self defense, environmental self defense, mental self defense, and verbal self defense. Here are a few review written by our participants after the class: Screen shot 2015-07-20 at 10.28.48 AM Screen shot 2015-07-20 at 10.29.20 AM

T_MG_7270his free event was made possible by the members of El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu who pay a monthly membership. Thank you! We would also like to thank those who took time to share the event on their social media,  post a flyer at their place of work or favorite coffee shop / grocery store, and refer their friends to the event. The event was a success because of our members! Thank you!

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Jiu Jitsu Summer Research Project #1

Jiu Jitsu students in El Dorado Hills take on summer research projects to keep their skills sharp during the summer months.

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Jules giving her presentation in front of her peers and the adults class that follows at 7pm

The main skills we focus on during the summer are the following:

  • Researching
  • Writing
  • Public Speaking

In addition to the three skills mentioned above, the projects also emphasize:

  • Creative Expression
  • Teamwork
  • Leadership
  • Anti-Bullying Awareness

These are skills that will last a lifetime as the student matures during the summer months. Here is a video of the first summer project to get the students started. The topic was to find, research, write a presentation, and give a presentation on  a 2015 Jiu Jitsu Pan American Champion or World Champion.

In this video El Dorado Hills Jiu Jitsu student, Alex, gave a presentation on the 2015 Pan American Champion, Alexander Trans. Alex, age 14, wrote an impressive narrative documenting how Alexander Trans got started in Jiu-Jitsu, found out information on his coaches, training and competition philosophy, and the mindset of being a champion.

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4 different reports by 4 different students all on Jiu-Jitsu World Champions and Jiu Jitsu Pan American Champions.

Every week or every other week, depending on the depth and time of the project, students will be assigned a new topic to think about and share with their peers and the adults class  (age 14+) or kids class (age 5-9).

EDH Jiu Jitsu

916.595.4064

BJJ Tour: All Star Jiu Jitsu Tournament Results

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EDH Team of competitors and supporters

We had three competitors from El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competing in the BJJ Tour: All Star Tournament this weekend in Santa Cruz. The tournament is one of the cash prize tournaments for the BJJ Tour with the winner of the weight division receiving $500, and the winner of the open weight, where all the medalists from the weight divisions are combined into one mini tournament, received $1000.

Yellow Belt, Sky competing in the under 14 category finished with a Silver medal.

Purple Belt, Dave competing in the master 3 category finished with a Gold medal.

Black Belt, Eliot competing in the adult category finished with a Bronze medal in the weight division and a Silver medal in the open weight division.

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One of the many competitors getting their hand raised at the BJJ Tour All Star Tournament.

The tournament was an exciting atmosphere starting with competitors as young as age 5 and all the way up to 58. The tournament was help at the Kaiser Pavilion in Santa Cruz, CA. For more information, media, and live feed replay you can visit http://bjjtour.com

Outside Jiu Jitsu at Folsom Aquatic Center

EDH Jiu Jitsu trained outside at the Folsom Aquatic Center at the Folsom Sea Otter swim-a-thon event on Monday. The outdoor training was a great way to break up the routine of training indoors and an exciting evening of drilling and rolling on the mat.

The event began at 6:30 with students from the juniors jiujitsu class practicing their submissions and eventually rolling. Following the Juniors class students from the adults jiujitsu class showed up to drill and roll.

The event finished at 9:00 and turned out to be a cool and fun evening outside next to the pool of swimmers! We sincerely appreciate the Folsom Sea Otters for having us join them on their swim-a-thon and looking forward to the next opportunity we have to join them!

Thanks to everyone who showed up early to set up and stayed after to clean up the mats!

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Juniors Jiu Jitsu Warming up and going over the agenda for class
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Drilling
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Drilling: “Don’t just do it until you get it right. Do it until you can’t get it wrong.”
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Kids & Teens Jiu Jitsu after a fun outdoor class
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Adult Jiu Jitsu joined in on the fun from 7:30-9:00