Coach’s Corner My martial arts journey started in 1988, when I was 10 years old. After being ruthlessly bullied by kids in my neighborhood, my mother enrolled me in a local karate program to help me build confidence and discipline. Through the years I’ve trained in karate, Aikido, Jeet Kune Do and for the […]
Allowing Our Kids to Watch Us Grow! Contributed by Nickie Smith Five years ago, my youngest boy (we have three boys and one girl, ages 13, 11, 10, and 8) stepped into his first BJJ class at EGA. He fell right into place and it became just a natural extension of his being. After watching […]
Coach’s Corner The new year is upon us! I’m very happy and grateful for a fantastic 2022 with our tribe and I’m looking froward to another great year in 2023. Our students make EGA the community that it has become and I couldn’t be more thankful. We have a lot of exciting things to […]
Developing Confidence A dive into Dr. Nate Zinsser’s book The Confident Mind. Follow this series to learn from where confidence stems, how to cultivate confidence in your life, and how this translates as a student of Jiu Jitsu. Contributed by Matt Smith* What is confidence? Merriam-Webster defines confidence as, “a feeling or consciousness of one’s […]
Conditioning for BJJ Part 1 – “Most of the Year Training” Contributed by Lou Torres Conditioning sessions should not replace your Brazilian jiu jitsu sessions; nothing beats Brazilian jiu jitsu rolling sessions and drills. I understand time is limited, so if you have to choose between going to the gym for a Brazilian jiu […]
Coach’s Corner * Contributed by Coach Nick Spencer I’d like to take time to talk about the importance of training partners. Without our training partners we literally cannot do jiu jitsu. This is something that we know and understand but although jiu jitsu is an individual sport, it takes a team to build a champion. […]
Coach’s Corner I am frequently told by both students and parents about their experiences regarding the benefits of Jiu Jitsu. There are few things that make me feel more fulfilled as a teacher and practitioner than these success stories. Recently a parent, whose child had been enrolled in Jiu Jitsu a couple of years ago, […]
Back & Leg Training for BJJ Contributed by Lou Torres A few weeks ago we brought you So You Want To Lift? where Coach Lou broke down strength training exercises, and their relationship to BJJ, for the entire body. This week Lou sits down to specifically address legs and back. While your legs and […]
For our very first Throwdown Thursday we’re going to throwback to October 2021. Mike Palladino, along with students Joan Demetroules and Nico DeMilio, traveled to Bellingham, WA to compete on a championship card for Battle Grappling. In Mike’s pursuit for the 185 lb. Champion Belt, he was paired with former UFC fighter, Cody McKenzie, […]
Coach’s Corner Practice and the Importance of Approach In 2015 I read a book called Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Dr. Anders Ericsson. Ericsson, coining the term “Deliberate Practice,” was the world’s leading expert on “experts.” In his research he identifies two major types of practice of which I’d like […]