As a way to celebrate his blue belt promotion, raise awareness, and give back to the community, Ryan is hosting a great event for everyone interested in learning about self defense. Below are the details:

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I am putting on a self-defense workshop at El Dorado Hills BJJ on August 11, 2019.  The workshop will run from 10:00 to 11:00 Sunday morning.

Attendance is by donation only, with a suggested donation of $10.00. All proceeds from the workshop will be used to purchase school supplies for kids attending El Dorado County Charter School.

I think this community event serves dual purposes.  On its face, it will hopefully educate folks within the community on basic concepts that might help them physically defend themselves, but also teach them how to evaluate their surroundings and make safe/smart choices.  I don’t necessarily think that self-defense (physical or mental) is intuitive and I don’t feel that there are a lot of opportunities for our most at-risk community members to learn about how to protect themselves.

The proceeds will be used to further help our most at-risk community members by providing them with the tools necessary to aid them in their educational endeavors.  These are children from families who often cannot themselves afford to purchase school supplies.  

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Everyone is welcome to this event on Sunday, August 11th.

• We recommend wearing exercise attire.
• All ages are welcome but we recommend 10+, teens, adults.
• Time: 10-11 (Doors will open 9:45)
• Address: 9359 Golden Foothill Parkway #208 El Dorado Hills, CA

One unique part of our program at EDH is that students organize a community activity at the end of their belt promotion. As a way to celebrate their accomplishment with the team, and to enrich their community in some way.

Ryan has his event coming up in August. Please share!

Purple belt bjj Promotion

Javen, age 17, is the youngest from El Dorado Hills, CA to receive his purple belt. A martial artist at heart, Javen has embraced training as a continuous exploration of self awareness. As young as he his, his maturity as a person and jiujitsu practitioner is deceiving. People often mistake him for being in his 20’s when they first meet Javen.

He is humble, respectful, eager to learn, and ready to receive input and advice.

As a jr. coach, Javen is eager to teach. As a teacher he looks to connect with students, helps them find comfort with the uncomfortable, and guides them to push their boundaries. As a coach, he finds ways to improve the physical, mental, emotional capacities of his athletes. A leader of character by example.

We’re very fortunate to have him on the mat with us. Thank you for giving it your all both on and off the mat.

Gray-white belt promotion at EDH “the hills” Jiu Jitsu

Eli has really grown into overcoming some adversity. Yet, he listened to the support and advice from his family and coaches to keep going. Trusting the advice of authority can be difficult at times, but this is a critical skill to develop in training and in life.

Now Eli brings a “go get it” attitude to training and is a constant growing force in his skills and ability to focus. His level of determination to train at really stepped up and we look forward to him being more of a leader in class.

🛡柔🛡G-W Belt Promotion! Congrats to Ella on her belt promotion. Ella started with her sister, a bit shy ☺️ at first but with the support of her family, friends, and sister she made the transition in no time. Her resilience to persevere through adversity is unmatched. We are looking forward to seeing her further challenge herself on and off the mat! Congrats!

🛡柔🛡G-W Belt Promotion! Congrats to Ella on her belt promotion. Ella started with her sister, a bit shy ☺️ at first but with the support of her family, friends, and sister she made the transition in no time. Her resilience to persevere through adversity is unmatched. We are looking forward to seeing her further challenge herself on and off the mat! Congrats!

March 4, 2019

By Aaron Martinez

How to coach a Black Belt

I wanted to give my thoughts on what is the best way to coach a Black Belt during competition, or an athlete that is higher ranked, or is more skilled than yourself. I remember thinking, “Should I even be saying anything at all?” I asked a former Black Belt instructor of mine after one of his matches, when we traveled together to compete and I was the only one there to coach him. I was a purple belt, but he said, “Absolutely.” I did my best, but certainly could have coached him better if I knew what I know now.

As a black belt now, I really want my coaching kept simple. I’ve worked my game plan and drilled it a thousand times. I don’t need someone trying to coach every single element of the match. I want to know:

1. The time left in the match

2. Situational- I’m up or down by points and advantages

3. Be calm and breathe when I’m getting too excited 

4. Motivation when I’m down and losing hope.

It’s the complete opposite of coaching a white belt, or someone new to competition. In those situations you have to do a lot of hand holding and walk them through situations when you can. A black belt knows how they want to defend a choke from the back. Screaming directions on how to defend the neck and escape the hooks is silly unless you see something you 100% know they can’t identify on their own because of their position.

There are many different kinds of relationships between coaches and athletes and many different scenarios that will dictate the dynamics of coaching. But if you walk into a tournament and see your black belt instructor competing and no one is there to coach them, you can at least be helpful and give them information they can use to help them win.

GW Belt Promotion! Congrats to Max on his belt graduation. Max kick started the jiujitsu fever in his family and now his sister trains with him on the mat. He came with great hustle, and has developed the ability to focus fully through his training. Once he mastered this skill, his learning has been snowballing! We see Max to be a silent leader as he continues to grow up on the mat and help his peers become stronger!