Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Bullying is a Problem


    

     Bullying is a problem.  BULLY, a Weinstein Company movie, is a look inside how people are coming together to raise awareness and help change peoples' approach to bullying. Unfortunately, over 5 million American kids will be bullied this year. Some will figure out a way to cope with it, while others might not. Needless to say, adults should not resist or be in denial of trying to resolve any bullying situation. 
     Not to change the subject, but we've all heard the phrase, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I don't agree with this. What you say and what you do, will make someone feel a certain way. Eventually, people will forget what you did or said, but they never forget how you made them feel. Here is a short story I learned at the Eternal Warrior Wrestling Camp that we can all learn from: 
     There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. 
     Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered 'it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.' Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. 
     The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw in out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry. The wound is still there."
     A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends and family are a very rare jewel indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. 
     Bullying works in the same way. The scars left after the nails have been pulled out are permanent. How will you deal with bullying? Please feel free to call if you need someone to talk about this issue: 916-595-4064


Eliot Kelly
"Bullying is a problem we need to do something about."

Friday, April 13, 2012

Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu Tournament 2010


Eliot takes second in the Abu Dhabi West Coast Trials 
     January 24, 2010
      


 Eliot finished second in the Abu Dhabi Pro West Coast Trials tournament held in Santa Cruz this weekend. Winning  the first three matches by submission, Eliot lost by a takedown in the finals. First Prize qualified for an all expenses paid trip to compete in the Abu Dhabi Pro Championships in the UAE. 


Jiu-Jitsu Tournament in Truckee


  Roger wins Gold in Truckee             
March 13, 2010                                               

    Roger won the Gold medal in the white belt, middle weight division at the Tahoe Open. This was his first competition and amidst worries of an oncoming blizzard, he made his way up to the competition. At the tournament, he won his first match by submission, and won in the finals by a dominant score of 17-0.  Roger has been training at West Coast for almost 6 months, and has learned a great amount. He is a great example of a true champion, balancing his rigorous academics at CSU Sacramento with his Jiu Jitsu training. 

Train to make a Donation: Make a Difference!


    Train to make a donation

Walk MS Medium
         March 22 〜 April 16, 2010
   
     A donation of $50 will be made in the name of each new student signing up from March 22 through April 16.  A $5 donation will be made with each new trial student referred by a current student. All funds go to the National MS Society, which works towards a cure and offers MS patients support and resources all over the country. To find out more information or make a donation online go to the website below: 
http://walkcan.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=3061310&pg=personal&fr_id=13534
OR a West Coast Staff member can take care of a check made out to "NMSS" 
     To join our team go to the participant website above and click "Join Jennifer's Team" on the left...the walk is on April 18th at 9am on the West Steps of the Capitol.

Thank you so much for your support!  We raised a little under 
$3,000.

American Cup Jiu-Jitsu Tournament


Two Gold Medals from the American Cup
May 2, 2010

 
        After a disciplined week of watching his weight and hard training, Roger found himself ahead 5-0 in his match. With a little less than a minute to go, his opponent threw his legs up for a triangle choke. Roger's dominance on the mat against a medalist is proof he has been developing his game. A little more work and he will be on the medal stand in no time! 
        Although Eliot normally competes in the Super heavy category, he was bumped up to compete with the big boys in the Ultra heavy category this weekend. After an exciting start on the feet, Eliot was able to rack up the points and finish the match with an arm triangle. 
         Entering the absolute (all weights) category, Eliot won his first match with more than a 10 point lead. His second match was a nail-biter, coming down to the last second for him to win with an advantage point. Eliot won both, his weight division and absolute division. The tournament was hosted at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, CA.

Eliot in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Magazine


Eliot Kelly in the Gracie Magazine! 
May 3, 2010

    

    Our instructor, Eliot Kelly was included in the highlights from the Third American Cup in the Gracie Magazine. The event was one of Northern California's biggest, hosting over 850 competitors. To read more about the event and view pictures, click here.



Jiu-Jitsu Tournament in Santa Cruz


One Gold & Two Silver Medals from Santa Cruz Jiu-Jitsu by the Sea
June 26, 2010

    El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had four competitors sign up for the Jiu-Jitsu by the Sea tournament in Santa Cruz this weekend. Even though it was their first Jiu-Jitsu tournament, Matt, Jesse, Steph, and Ben all competed hard and learned a great deal from their victories and defeats. Ben overcame a very close match and won in the finals, showing to be the aggressor through 
the entire match. Matt defeated his first two opponents with his favorite arm-bar submission. He almost finished off with a perfect tournament but his opponent was able to maneuver out of a tight (painful looking) kimura in the finals, defeating him by point decision. The tournament and trip was a great time for everyone! More pictures can be found on our facebook page: Cia Paulista Eldorado

(from left to right: Ben, Steph, Roger, Jesse, Matt)

CA Jiu-Jitsu State Championships in Sacramento


One Gold & Two Silver Medals from the CA State Championships
September 19, 2010
        The 1st CA State Jiu-Jitsu Championship was held in Sacramento this Sunday. From our team we had five competitors; Jordan, Steve, Gary, Trevor, and Eliot. The tournament had a great atmosphere and it was a wonderful experience to be a part of a new tradition. Jordan lost a challenging first match, but showed much improvement from his previous tournament competition. Gary fought hard in his first match to come out with a victory, and almost pulled through for another win in the championship finals, finishing with a Silver medal. Trevor and Steve looked great, even though it was their first tournament. Steve finished with a Silver medal and Trevor almost pulled though with a Bronze medal while battling for a true third place, finishing fourth. In the Brown belt division, Eliot defeated his only opponent to clinch the division's Gold medal. The tournament was hosted at the Capital Christian School off highway 50. 


US Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament Results


A Gold & Bronze Medal from the U.S. Open
October 15/16/17, 2010
        There were some incredible matches this weekend and many of them involved Sacramento competitors. From El Dorado Hills BJJGary had a great match battling for the takedown and the match ended in a tie 2-2. It came down to referee criteria and his opponents hand was raised. Gary finished up with a Bronze medal. Eliot battled back from a loss to the absolute champion on Friday, and came back to win his weight division on Sunday with a dominant score of 16-0. There was also an incredibly strong crowd support, pushing and cheering on the competitors! Congratulations to the competitors and thanks to all the supporters who came all the way down to Santa Cruz! 

No Gi Jiu-Jitsu World Champion: Frank Richmond


Frank is the No Gi Jiu-Jitsu WORLD 

CHAMPION!!
November 7, 2010

 
Frank competed in the No Gi Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and won all five matches to be crowned Adult Blue Medium-Heavyweight World Champion. Although this was his first competition to ever compete in Jiu-Jitsu, he looked like a seasoned veteran as his instincts kicked in, controlling and countering his opponents on his feet and on the ground. Winning his first match with an outstanding decision, he went on to submit his next opponent with a kimura lock. After injuring his knee in his second match he continued to beat competitors from Brazilian Top Team, CheckMat BJJ, Spa City BJJ, and the 2010 No-gi Pan-American Champion in the finals! Frank it a math teacher and wrestling coach at Vista del Lago High School in Folsom, CA. The tournament was hosted at CSU Long Beach in the Pyramid Center. 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in El Dorado Hills




1st Jiu Jitsu Tournament in El Dorado Hills

December 22, 2010

      2010 was a great year, and we decided to finish it off with an in-house tournament. There were two weight divisions, above 185 lbs and below 185 lbs and each division had five competitors. The tournament was an opportunity for the students to display a few of the many things they had been learning and developing. It was great to see everyone cheering for each other, yelling out technique or words of encouragement. We also heard several "wow!" and "amazing!" from the crowd during the night. 
       After the tournament, awards were given to each competitor and several individuals were recognized as they had earned their belt promotion. Congrats to all the competitors! 
     The evening concluded with a little ice cream with anticipation for a sweet 2011! 

(For more pictures from today, go to our facebook page) 


VIP WEEK: Family Fun with Jiu-Jitsu


(VIP)~Very Involved Parents Week 
January 25/27, 2011

    This week we had a little twist in our kids class curriculum. All the parents were invited to step on the mat and train with the kids! Working with their parents allowed the kids to see how they could apply their technique on someone much bigger and stronger. The parents also got to physically feel the power of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and its effectiveness. 
     Thank you very much to all the parents who stepped on the mat! We really appreciate your time on the mat, and support towards an active and healthy lifestyle. 


(For more pictures from today, go to our facebook page) 


Abu Dhai Pro Jiu-Jitsu Trials


Abu Dhabi Pro Trials: Las Vegas
January 29, 2011

     This weekend Eliot traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials. Unlike last year, there were more divisions and more prizes to compete for. Eliot ended up competing in four different divisions; Brown/Black Absolute gi, Brown/Black under 202 lbs gi, Advanced no-gi under 202 lbs, and Advanced no-gi Absolute. 
     Eliot won the GOLD medal in the advanced no-gi under 202 lbs, and the BRONZE in the advanced no-gi absolute division. His placement did not qualify him to earn a trip to the Abu Dhabi championships in the UAE, but he will have another opportunity to compete in the trials in San Diego, CA. 
     Even as a brown belt Eliot was able to defeat several black belt competitors in the combined category. He also had the opportunity to compete agains some of the best of the best in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, going against World Champion Antonio Braga Neto and Caio Terra. Eliot was quoted, "This tournament was a good opportunity to see where my game is and where I want to be by Pan-Ams. I'm excited to see where 2011 will take me!" 

(For more info go to our facebook page or read our blog!)

Jiu-Jitsu by the Bay Tournament


A Gold & a Bronze from Jiu-Jitsu by 

the Bay


February 26, 2011

    It was a very exciting weekend for our students who drove down to San Francisco to compete in the Jiu-Jitsu by the Bay tournament. We had two competitors enter and both of them finished the competition with a medal in hand. For Kev. "the lumberjack" it was his second tournament competition to enter. According to Kev, he really wanted to go out there and execute. In the Grappling X tournament just a few months ago, he blanked and was unable to give a performance he felt he could, but he was happy he could this time. Kev won the Gold medal as he locked in a tight triangle on his opponent in the finals. As for our other competitor Kevin, he registered for the tournament on the spot. Even though this was his first tournament, he battled his way to the podium winning the Bronze medal. Congrats to the competitors and thank you to all who showed up to support! You have no idea how much that side line support means to a competitor!! 
 (For more pictures, check us out on facebook!)

Judo Seminar with Jeff Sato Sensei


Judo Seminar with Black belt Jeff 

Sato: 佐藤ジェフ先生

March 1, 2011

     We were privileged with a very unique opportunity today. We had Jeff Sato, an Olympic level Judo Black belt share with us his experiences, philosophy on Judo, and application of Judo to Brazilian Jiujitsu. Time seemed to flyby in his two hour seminar as he demonstrated, instructed, and answered many questions. During the seminar Jeff pressed the need to have some "bullets" in your stand up game in order to score from your feet. The seminar was a very well organized and thoughtful application of Judo to Jiu-Jitsu. Thank you very much for your time and effort Jeff!

      An instructional DVD based on the Jeff's Seminar will be available for purchase in April. Please contact us if you are interested in ordering a copy. e-mail: edhbjj@gmail.com  phone: 916-595-4064
(For more photos, check us out on facebook!)

Grappling X Jiu-Jitsu Tournament


Danny Wins Gold, Andrew wins 

Silver at Grappling X
March 13, 2011
  
  El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had three competitors compete in the Grappling X tournament this weekend in Elk Grove. Danny, Kev, and Andrew all represented the school with class as they stepped on the mat to test the skills they have been working on. Kev made an honest attempt to control his matches from the guard, but fell short from the podium. He continues to progress his game and seems to have caught the competition bug! Danny battled his way to the top of the podium by taking his opponents down, passing their guard, and working for the finish. He showed an amazing amount of confidence even though this was his first competition! This was Andrew's first tournament to compete in and he did an excellent job staying calm and trying his absolute best to control the tempo of the match. There was also strong crowd support this weekend from both El Dorado Hills Jiu-Jitsu and Sacramento Jiu-Jitsu schools! Thank you for your support it makes a big difference to have someone cheering you on! The tournament was hosted at Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, CA.

VIP Week! Family Fun with Jiu-Jitsu


(VIP)~Very Involved Parents Week 

April 19/21, 2011

This week at EDHBJJ we had a little twist in our kid's class curriculum. We were able to convince our parents to get involved and step on the mat. The practices were an excellent opportunity for the kids to apply their technique on people much bigger than themselves, as well as for the parents to feel and experience the subtle nuances and joy behind jiujitsu.  

Thank you very much to all parents for stepping on the mat and working with all the little ones! We really appreciate your time and support towards a stronger and healthier lifestyle. We can't wait for our next VIP week! 
To view more pictures go to our facebook page! 

2011 Jiu-Jitsu American Cup


Five Medalists from the American Cup 

April 31/May 1, 2011
This weekend in San Jose, CA Independence High School hosted the 4th Annual American Cup. The tournament was an exciting two day event with the kids division on Saturday, and most of the adults competing on Sunday. El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu jitsu had three Kids enter the competition and Tyler finished up with a Silver and Aidan finished up with the Gold. Michael fell short of the podium, but had an incredible performance against an eventual medalist. For the kids it was their first tournament competition ever! Congrats to all of them! In the juvenile division Ben won his first match with a leg triangle, and fell short of the Gold by a takedown in the finals. Aside from the last second takedown he had a flawless match, finishing with the Silver. In the Senior division, Gary dominated his way to the Gold, finishing his the match with his favorite lapel choke. Todd claimed his brown belt division with another Gold medal. Congratulations to all the competitors and thank you very much to all the support in the crowd. It was an incredible experience! 

Star 6 Memorial Run


May Challenge: Star 6 Memorial 5K/10K Run 

May 22, 2011 
          The word of the month has been all about CHALLENGE. This month, students at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have been encouraged to challenge themselves both on and off the mat. One of the Challenges set by our instructor was to par
ticipate in a local running event, and we found the perfect event to participate in: the Star 6 Memorial Run. (Please visit Star6Run.org to find out more information.)
 The weather was perfect, and everyone finished with some incredible times! With each challenge we look to improve ourselves and find out a little more about who we are as a person. 

To read more about CHALLENGE click here 


IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships


2011 IBJJF World Championships

June 2,3,4,5
Frank and Eliot from EDHBJJ stepped on the mat in Long Beach, CA this weekend at the IBJJF World Championships. This was the premiere Jiu-Jitsu tournament of the year with the best competitors from all around the world coming to compete for the World Title. Frank had a great match in the first round of the blue belt division, beating the Brazilian National's Champion with a Kimura lock. He was taken by surprise in the second round when he went up against the European Natl. Champion. Frank was noted saying, "That guy had a great guard game. It's something I wasn't used to seeing in the practice room. I can't wait to get back, develop my game, and compete again soon!"  Eliot, still battling an injury he suffered in February, lost his first round match to the eventual champion of the tournament. "I felt a little timid with my injury and felt as though I was holding back. Aside from that my strength and conditioning were the best they've ever been. I can't wait to see where I am when I rehab back from this injury." Both competitors did an excellent job. Congratulations to both of them! 
(Right Picture: Eliot getting a beach workout in the day before competition) (Left  Picture: Sean, Garrett, Eliot, KC, Frank, Omar) 

Nutrition Tips #1


Summer Nutrition Class (Part 1)

June 21, 2011
In an effort to kick start a Fit & Healthy Summer, we had a visiting lecturer come into West Coast Martial Arts and El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-
Jitsu on Tuesday to share with us information on hydration and Vitamin D. The class with Dr. Petrice Foxworthy was very practical and functional. Thank your for your time and effort! Mark your calendars for the next class in July and August! 

To view a slideshow of the notes from class, Click Below:

Summer Jiu-Jitsu Tournament & BBQ


Summer Tournament & BBQ

June 25, 2011
     This Saturday we had our First Annual Summer Starter Tournament at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu JitsuThe Adults were divided into three different weight categories and the kids were matched up to compete with one another. Even while competing against our fellow teammates, who we practice with everyday, there were some incredible matches
with a spectacular display of technique and sportsmanship. There was also a great crowd of friends and family to cheer on the competitors. At the conclusion of the event, we gathered around some great food and BBQ prepared by everyone! Congratulations to all the competitors and thank you to everyone who helped run and organize this great event. 

To view more photos & videos go to our facebook page -or- Click Here.