Tag Archives: el dorado hills

Tournaments

EDH Jiu-Jitsu competes in JJWL Golden State

  The Jiu Jitsu World League Golden State tournament was last weekend. Our school had eleven youth competitors and three adult competitors. Everybody performed well. 

    I started the day coaching some of the kid competitors. It was great to see many of them make huge improvements since their last tournaments. One of our students hit a couple of really nice hip bump sweeps, at a previous tournament he struggled to finish that technique. Another student, who lost by arm bar in her last tournament was put in the same attack but she was able to defend and even counter the attack with a guard pass! 

    I won four out of five of my matches earning a bronze medal. My first match went pretty well, I scored a takedown, passed the guard and was able to finish with a head and arm choke. My second match I lost by triangle choke which put me in the bracket fighting for third place. My third match was pretty close but I scored a takedown early and was able to win the scrambles caused by my opponents sweep attempts. My fourth match I got the takedown and was able to take the back with a knee on belly setup that has been a part of my game plan for a while now. My final match for third place was the most fun, I scored the takedown, there were some scrambles and some back and forth action but I eventually took the back and finished with a bow and arrow choke. 

    Overall the team looked great. It’s so inspiring to watch everybody improve and get stronger. I am excited to continue my preparation for the World Championships with the feedback from this outing.

Coach Danny

Camp

Kids camp in El Dorado Hills at EDHBJJ

Spring Jiu Jitsu Camp
Over the Spring break I got to do another 4 days of Jiu Jitsu Camp. We did an hour and fifteen minutes of Jiu Jitsu class which included learning and reviewing the single leg takedown, the fireman carry, offensive and defensive basics from side control, the staple gun guard pass, and the flower sweep. The group of kids who participated in camp had different levels of experience with Jiu Jitsu, for some of them Jiu Jitsu camp was their first Jiu Jitsu class. It was cool to watch the more experienced kids mentoring the newer kids.

After the jiujitsu lesson we played a variety of mat games, which the kids always love. We started off with making teams and picking team names. Hearing the team names that the kids come up with is always one of my favorite parts of camp. After everyone had their name picked we got started with relay races, sumo matches, tug a war, dodgeball, sharks and minnows and freeze tag. It’s always fun to watch the combination of competition and camaraderie in the room during these games.

Once we Finished up with the mat games everyone stepped off the mat to have a snack and wind down playing board games. I plan on doing a few more of these camps this year. The kids seem to have a lot of fun with them and I enjoy planning and doing them. 

Coach Danny

Uncategorized

JAPAN DAY JIUJITSU DEMO

We will be performing a jiu-jitsu demonstration at JAPAN DAY and need about 10 volunteers to perform at the event. ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME! It will be important to participate in the practice session on Friday, 4/22. PRACTICE:

  • FRIDAY, April 22nd –  5:30-6:00ish

Please bring Gi and NoGi. (you can decide what uniform you want to wear)If you don’t have a partner we will make partners and choreograph during this time. EVENT DETAILS: 

  • Website: CSUS JAPAN DAY. 
  • Date: Sunday April 24th
  • Meeting time: 12:30 Martial Arts booth
  • Demo time: 1:30pm
  • Location: Library Quad
  • Parking: Free 

DEMO EXAMPLES: (please watch) 

These are some examples you might enjoy watching with the family! 

Tournaments

ASSOCIATION: AJJ SYNDICATE WINS BIG at the JJWL Golden Cup III

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: 

A couple weekends ago the team went to JJWL (Jiu Jitsu World League) in Stockton to compete. Emberly from the peewee class made her tournament debut!

From the Kids class Dailan, George, and Drake made a strong appearance. George finished with bronze and Drake finished with silver. 

From the Adults, Jamie, Jarrod, Mike, Matt, Ted, Danny, Joe, – Purple belts Jamie won nogi silver and Jarrod won gold. – Blue belts Mike won bronze, Matt won silver and nogi gold, Danny won bronze, Ted won double gold.- White belt Joe won nogi silver.

Thank you to all the teammates and family in attendance! Tournaments are a great reminder to focus on the process and build from each experience. 

American Jiu Jitsu Syndicate:

The tournament was also an impressive showing of our organization: AJJ Syndicate. 
The team won the Adult and Master team competition and took third in the kids and juvenile team competition. Congrats! 

Tournaments

Some reflections about competition and my overall experiences

 I plan on competing as much as possible in 2022. Competition is one of my favorite parts of Jiu Jitsu. I love the feeling of stepping on the tournament mat to challenge myself against another competitor. I think the benefits of competing are huge. The lessons I’ve learned at tournaments have been so much more meaningful to me than anything I’ve learned in the practice room. It feels like the true test of where my Jiu Jitsu is at.

I did my first Jiu Jitsu tournament in my first 6 months of training. It was such a fun and intense experience I could not wait to do it again. I remember feeling so nervous as I waited for my bracket to start. My anxiety peaked when me and the rest of my bracket were standing by the mat waiting for our names to be called but once my first match started my nerves dissapeared and I was full of excitement. I lost my first two matches (it was a double elimination tournament) and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to do another one so that I could do better. Six months later I did another tournament and got silver. I think the dissapointment of losing those first two matches made me improve much faster than I would have if I never competed, it made practice so much more important to me because now I was working towards a specific goal. I just wanted to win a match.

I think everybody who trains should experience competition at least once. It’s such a fun and rewarding experience. It is also stressful and a little bit scary but that is part of what makes it so special. I’m very excited to test myself on those mats again this year and excited to watch my teammates do the same. 

Coach Danny

Kids Jiu Jitsu

jiujitsu class for age 4,5,6

PeeWee class at EDH Jiu Jitsu
When I first started coaching I was very intimidated by the peewee class. It seemed like it was going to be so difficult to get a group of four to six year olds to listen and move as a team. That’s because I didn’t understand the goal and expectation of that class.

The goal of that class is that they have fun, exercise, and learn something  new. The expectation of that class is that they are present, not perfect.
When I first started coaching I was a helper in the peewee and kid class. Pee wee jiujitsu felt especially overwhelming to me. The class has a fast pace and kids at that age have much shorter attention spans than the kids jiujitsu class.

When I started leading the peewee class it felt like a huge step up in responsibility. Once I learned the formula and understood the goals and expectation that class became very fun for me to teach. Watching kids at a young age progress every week and learning basic Jiu Jitsu positions while having a fun time feels very rewarding.


In the peewee class we want them learning basic Jiu Jitsu positions and basic movements. We teach these positions by playing games with the coach and with the students paired up, playing games with each other. The games involve significant elements of jiujitsu and are competitions where students work together or against a team mate for the win. With this method we check all of the boxes for that class; they’re having fun, they are learning, and they are getting a work out.


My expectation as a coach isn’t for the student to be perfect. If we expected four to six year olds to behave perfectly in class that would be an unreasonable expectation. We just want them to be present (and mentally checked in) while in class so they can learn and improve.

Something we talk to the kids a lot about is focus. The more they practice focus the easier it is for them to stay present. At the beginning of class we take deep breaths and talk about using our eyes, ears, and body as tools to help us focus. The deep breath is a really helpful tool to help them refocus. Another thing we talk about is hustle. To have hustle they have to be present, if they have good hustle, that means they are moving with focus. I really love seeing all of the students progress every week with their jiujitsu knowledge, their ability to focus, and their hustle. 

Coach Danny

Uncategorized

Disciplien & motivation

Something I have struggled a lot with and seen others struggle with is finding a way to feel motivated, especially to do things that I don’t enjoy. Even though it does seem easier to get things done when I feel motivated it doesn’t actually change anything about the activity. If I need to clean my house I am still going to do all of the same chores whether I feel like doing them or not.

Same with Jiu Jitsu, whether or not i feel motivated to go to practice is not going to change what takes place at that practice. Motivation seems like something out of my control. It’s nice when it is there but it does not stay forever.

However, when people have discipline they will get things done with or without feeling motivated. Discipline is a skill that we can practice where as motivation is a feeling that we experience. Developing a routine and sticking to it whether it’s with diet, exercise, learning are all opportunities to practice discipline. Anytime hanging out at home and watching Netflix or playing video games sounds better than going to the gym for training, I have an opportunity to practice discipline. This means being disciplined is totally in my control and that no matter how bad I am at it, I can improve with practice.
Personally, I find it much easier to be very disciplined in things that I enjoy and areas where I feel motivated. I find that it takes much more effort and focus to practice being disciplined when it comes to things I don’t enjoy.

I know if and when I put in that focus and effort and practice being disciplined, the payout is always worth it. I used to really dislike weight lifting and strength training in general. I would never do it because i just did not feel motivated to lift weights. About a year ago I decided to just put it into my routine twice a week. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would show up and do the workout whether I felt like it or not until it became a habit. Now it’s one of my favorite parts of my routine.

Another thing I have always struggled to find motivation for is cleaning. For a long time I would neglect my chores because…. well, who wants to clean, right? Somebody I shared this with suggested that I plan to do my cleaning at specific times of the day and week, and make it a routine. So I made a commitment with myself and set up a weekly cleaning schedule. At first this was very difficult for me and felt like it took forever. Now that I have been doing it for a few years it is just a habit. Even with things I don’t enjoy much, I know if I practice being disciplined with those activities for long enough, they will become easier and easier and sometimes even enjoyable. If I depend on motivation to reach my goals, I will never get there. If I practice discipline to work towards my goals, almost anything is within reach. 

Coach Danny

Tournaments

The Ruckus in the Hills in house tournament at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was a pretty awesome experience for me. It was my first time Refereeing a tournament. I got to watch a lot of kids that I teach compete, many of them for their first time. Seeing everybody come together for such an event and feeling the sense of community was very special.
I had a lot of fun being one of the referees. It’s a pretty difficult and very important job at Jiu Jitsu tournaments. The responsibility of keeping the athletes safe felt like a daunting task. Having that up close view of each match made it very rewarding. In my preparation for refereeing the tournament I reviewed the IBJJF rules which i thought I already knew pretty well. Something that I learned was the rule on stalling is a lot more objective than I thought it was based on my experience competing and watching competition. They even have video examples of what should be called and time limits for their stalling rule. I thought that was really interesting.
The competitors all fought really hard which was awesome to see. Everybody also showed really good sportsmanship. It was cool to see people compete hard with their teammates while still being good teammates and friends. Watching the kids deal with the nerves of competition and then conquering that fear by stepping on the mat and doing their best was one of the highlights of the day for me.
The overall experience of the tournament was really positive for me. It was cool seeing everybody hanging out, chatting and enjoying the matches. I think the feeling in the room was a really good example of the strong, family friendly culture of EDH BJJ.

Coach Danny

Kids Jiu Jitsu

Back to School: We emphasize communication

Jr Jiu Jitsu Class (age 10-16) We believe jiujitsu is a means of teaching communication. Not just with our bodies but with our words. A way to express who we are and what we are thinking as well as what we are feeling.

We emphasize the idea of communication starting with talking about greetings. How do you say “hello.” Every good interaction is easier when we start with a good greeting.

As students finish up their summer and head back to school, we stress the importance of good greetings in building friendships and good interactions at school.

Adults Jiu Jitsu

Submission Pro Tour Sacramento Victory for Josh

Congratulation to Josh on his victory at the Submission Pro Tour event in Sacramento this last weekend. Josh spent a great deal of time preparing for this event, even with work and his volunteer activities he takes part in to serve the community.

The submission pro tour is an event that started in the sacramento area with the slogan technique or technicality. The event has served as an exciting ground for local bjj practitioners to compete under the submission only rule set with an EBI style overtime to settle the victory. Josh won in overtime when he defended the attack from the back and submitted his opponent with an armbar. Congrats