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!!!
DETAILS:
Sunday, March 18th 9:30am-1pm
$99 per person
1 hour theory and science
1 hour breathing and yoga
1 hour for the ice bath
Coach Eliot
IBJJF SF Open Results & Reflection from EDH BJJ & Self Defense
On February 25th we took a small team down to compete at the San Francisco Open. The event was held at the historic Kezar pavilion. Driving into the city on clear Sunday morning, I felt a mixed sense of nervousness for the competition and nostalgia from living there over two decades ago.
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.
The tournament was a great learning opportunity for everyone. There were people competing for the first time in their jiu jitsu journey, and others for the first time in 2018, after the holidays. One of our students Brad made his competition debut at the IBJJF SF Open this weekend and he documented his experience on his blog on linkedin. “How competing in a combat sport taught me more about how to improve myself and help others do the same.” Give his article a read and let him know what you think!
Tournament Results:
Blue Belt:
- Jamie – Bronze
- Jarrod – Silver (in his first competition at Blue Belt)
White Belt:
- Ryan – Silver
- Brad – Silver (First Competition)
by Coach Aaron
Photography By Aiza Tengan
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
Wim Hof Method Workshop in El Dorado Hills, CA
EDH Jiu Jitsu is hosting a unique workshop with a certified Wim Hof Method WHM instructor Reed Shelger on March 18th. The Wim Hof Method, developed by none other than Wim Hof himself, is a training method of breath, stretching, exercises, and ice cold submersions. The scientifically proven method is designed to strengthen the cardiovascular system, with great benefits that result from cardiovascular health.
All in the EDH, Folsom, Cameron Park, and in general the greater Sacramento are welcome to join us for this workshop. We look forward to hosting Reed and you on March 18th! Here is an interview our coach Eliot Kelly did with Reed Shelger while he was visiting his academy in Houston, TX.
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Teamwork in an individual sport and martial art
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.
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!
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!
Professional Jiu Jitsu Competitors in Reno, NV
On the last weekend of January, Tanner Ford and Eliot Kelly made their presence felt on the stage of Fight to Win Pro 60 in Reno, Nevada. This was an exciting night for the two competitors where over $30,000 were paid to the many competitors of the night. Tanner made his Submission only debut on the fight to win card and won via heel hook. He had a dominant performance and was able to execute to precision what he had been training. We are excited to see him again on the stage!
Eliot wasn’t as successful as Tanner in his match. Eliot lost a unanimous referee decision. Needless to say he made an effort to put on a show of takedowns and hand fighting looking to gain advantage starting from the feet.
We are excited to have been a part of another Fight to Win pro card in the Nevada area! This was an exciting opportunity to compete and perform on a professional stage in the art of submission grappling. We look forward to seeing these competitors in action again on the fight to win stage!
Belt Promotion: Jarrod moves up to Blue
Jarrod is the first generation with our new white belt curriculum to move up in belts. This has been a long process that has been in effect for a little over a year and a half. It’s been very beneficial in giving the beginners a sense of direction and task oriented learning opportunities in addition to the lessons they experience through their rolling and situational drilling.
Jarrod brings an analytical game to the mat to train and understand the technique and concepts behind martial arts efficiency. Coming from a background in pharmacology, he is very scientific in his approach to analyzing and understanding his game. His enthusiasm to improve and challenge himself exists in him going to competitions, training at 6am, 11am and the evening classes, and in thee process of him getting comfortable on the mat he has gotten his family involved in training! 
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!
We appreciate Jarrod’s enthusiasm to train and improve. It is contagious as he mentors the newer students on the mat, encouraging them to challenge themselves. Congrats Jarrod!
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.
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.