The Mat is a Mirror: Jiujitsu Lessons from Professora Caren Camblin

     A few days ago we had the opportunity to host Professora Caren Camblin from Santa Cruz. She taught a women's only jiu-jitsu class followed by a jiujitsu class for teens and adults. This was the first time for El Dorado Hills Jiujitsu to host a female black belt. Here is a little background on Professora Caren Camblin:

     Professora Caren Camblin received her Black Belt from Claudio França in 2010 after 14 years of training. She holds a masters degree in philosophy from Stanford University and her philosophical training deeply influences her approach to practicing and teaching jiu-jitsu.  Her primary interests are in the underlying principles of jiu-jistu, and how the realms of self-defense, art, and sport intersect.  Caren's teaching style is relaxed, collaborative, detail-oriented, and a bit cerebral.  She is forever open to questions and to troubleshooting problems on the spot.

     Caren is a Core Lecturer at University of California, Santa Cruz and she serves on the governing board of the nonprofit Nonviolent Communication Santa Cruz. Her husband, Mike Roberts, is also a Black Belt under Claudio França. 

     One of the concepts Professora Caren Camblin shared with the students during the seminar was on the reflective properties of the mat. The "mat is a mirror" of how you are feeling, your strengths and weaknesses, your frustrations, fears, excitement, pessimism and optimism, your joys and satisfactions, the list goes on. Training and being on the mat is a time of reflection, a time to see who you really are and assess or reflect on the things that you are feeling and going on around you. (I'm probably butchering what Professora Caren said with my limited vocabulary... SORRY Sensei!) Interestingly, this is a concept that is also embraced in the study of Yoga. I've heard some masters say that Jiujitsu has it's origins in India where the Martial Art or lifestyle of training included elements of jiujitsu, yoga, and  medication. (Could anyone help me expand on this?) 

Thank you Professor Caren Camblin for sharing with us the lifestyle of Brazilian Jiujitsu. We look forward to seeing you again soon! 

Eliot Kelly

916.595.4064

EDH Jiujitsu

Self Defense and Jiu-Jitsu for Women Seminar in El Dorado Hills with Professora Caren Camblin

     We may not remember every single jiu-jitsu class we have had on the mat, but there are a few special classes we will always remember. Yesterday was one of those classes at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Professora Caren Camblin, a black belt under Claudio Franca of Santa Cruz, was in El Dorado Hills to teach a ladies only seminar followed by a seminar for teens and adults.

     The ladies only seminar included women from Rocklin, Folsom, Granite Bay, Roseville, Cameron Park, and El Dorado Hills. First time beginners joined the class as well as seasoned veterans with broken in gi's and belts. The seminar began with an introduction that included a discussion on how they got started with jiu-jitsu and what kept them coming back. Professora Caren's special attention to teaching with detail showed as the students quickly grasped the concepts she was showing. In addition to her technical explanation, the seminar included an opportunity to think about the philosophy that accompanies jiu-jitsu, training, and being a woman on the mat. Professora Caren shared with us some very specific positions that would traditionally not be considered as essential positions to know and understand for self-defense.

     Just as the jiu-jitsu class for women was a great hit, the teens and adults class was a very fun and exciting experience for everyone. The teens and adults class began with a series of fun warm ups that activated the core, worked on balance, and helped practice a movements pertinent to jiu-jitsu. The theme for the one hour class focused on the idea of "position before submission"and "position before passing." Again, her detailed technical instruction with a focus on explaining and understanding the concept behind the movement/position was very insightful and mind opening.
     Her lesson included more than technical instruction. In addition to her detailed explanation of different positions, the class included a deeper sense of understanding of what jiu-jitsu has to offer. How the practice and struggles of jiu-jitsu can be a reflection of our struggles off the mat. How the practice of jiu-jitsu creates a special bond of friendships. And how the practice of jiu-jitsu is the gradual understanding of the philosophy of the gentle art.
     Thank you Professora Caren for helping EDH Jiu-Jitsu send a message to our community that Jiu-Jitsu is for everyone! We can't wait for your next visit!

EDH Jiu-Jitsu 

916.595.4064

Girl's and Women's Self-Defense: Eldorado Hills Jiu-Jitsu

Girl's and Women's Self-Defense: Our Approach

Self-defense training is our specialty, as in teaching people how to protect themselves against a physical assault (how to protect and escape, in one piece); but physical self-defense is only one small part of the self-defense equation.

Self-defense is cultivating a precautionary awareness. 

Self-defense is expecting the best, but preparing for the worst.

Self-defense is in being alert, (sometimes) overly cautious, and thinking about safety long, long before one might need to be "safe."

Self-defense is addressing issues, again, in advance, that cause harm to an individual, but that might not have anything to do with physical assault. This would include issues of self-esteem and self-worth, issues of the media's often skewed portrayal of beauty, of success, of "fitting in," and of "appropriate" female behavior, and issues of being assertive in a culture that might promote less than assertive behavior from "the weaker sex."

Self-defense is, in part, the physical security of ones office, car, home, and other surroundings. 

And most certainly, self-defense is about knowing, for sure, and in advance, of potentially dangerous situations --and avoiding those situations to avoid the risk of assault (in any form) that might come with them. 

On our mats we address physical assault. We teach girls and women the techniques of physical self-defense in less-that-perfect situations. Part of the training, a big part, is found in the repetitive physical practice of accessing knowledge under duress. One can learn WHAT to do in a self-defense situation, but being able to execute is another issue. Practice and training greatly increase the odds of acting on knowledge rather than freezing up due to fear and adrenaline.

We host seminars and clinics on a regular basis, to fill in gaps and reinforce training practices, which give us more time to address specific self-defense issues that we believe require more time and attention.

On the mat and in workshops, in the time we're not training, but cooling down or warming up, we discuss self-defense from as many vantage points as we have time for, but we don't teach on the mat alone; we also populate our on-line campus, our "digital dojo," with self-defense videos, reports, facts, and how-to's that make our self-defense training program, over all, second to none.

Basically, we create both a community of self-defense awareness --and an on-going self-defense focus meant to protect, prepare, and keep our students and their families out of harm's way, through education and preparation. 

For us, self-defense awareness training, like taking in food, like entertainment, like family time, like time with friends, like quiet time, like reading, like so many worthwhile aspects of life, are best when done in just the right proportions, at just the right times. In the case of real self-defense training, we defend ourselves best WITH OUR HEADS. Knowledge and practice putting that knowledge to use, in advance, is the best kind of self-defense training. 

For info on our self-defense classes and training, click here or call: 916.595.4064

EDH Jiu-Jitsu