Coach’s Corner

James and Jay Speight will be in Williamston and Elizabeth City NC this week Sharing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

James and Jay Speight will be in Williamston and Elizabeth City NC this week Sharing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

James Speight and Son Jay Speight will be teaching two training sessions with our brother clubs. Monday at 630pm they will be in Williamston NC at Jim Phifer’s academy at Nu Life Fitness 811 East blvd, right next to Roses in Williamston. And Wednesday at 5pm they will be at Donnie Tinsley’s academy at 1249 HWY 17 S. Suite 1 Elizabeth City. Hope everyone can attend.

On these two days classes in Greenville will be handled by George, Jason, Jack, Terrance and Gabe.

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Cool Throw Pulled off at a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Tournament

You don’t normally see these types of throws in a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Tournament, especially at a submission only event, and almost never at a higher ranking division.

This is Jay Speight in the absolute division purple belt, at a US Grappling event in Greensboro NC on 1-31-2015. you can see he pulled off a hip toss that left the crowd in surprise.

You can watch the whole match HERE

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Taking The First Step in Jiu-Jitsu

Taking The First Step in Jiu-Jitsu

Would like to introduce one of our newest and youngest students to our academy.
Justin Woolard is 6 years old and have been training with us for several months now. He is from Washington. And such a joy to train with. When he arrives at our academy my daughter can’t wait to get her uniform on and start training with him.

He recently got his first stripe in Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And for the people who have seen him at my academy there is only one thing to describe him.

He is “All Boy!!’

He reminds me of my son at this age. Hard to imagine it isn’t it?

I am looking forward to training him for many years to come.

Thank you Justin’s parents for choosing our academy for the development of your child.

Try a Free Lesson Today Click Here

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When should my child start training?

When should my child start training?

I get this question a lot, sometimes someone will call me and I say “How Old is your child?” I will get some answers like they are 18 months old. Well I don’t know your child but in an organized class for children, that is too young. In my opinion. Maybe you as a parent should train, and pass down your legacy to them? But that is another story all together.

I have trained many children over the years, some was ready younger, some was not ready older. It really depends on your child. But a good rule of thumb a child that is 5 to 6 is old enough to start in an organized 50-60 minute class.

Now I know my daughter started training before she was 3 years old, but my son started when he was 6. I maybe would have started him out before that, but we didn’t have any options at that time 14 years ago.

But keep this is mind, when you are trying to get a child to start training under 5, keep a realistic attitude on it. I think a 3 year old should be only expected to stay focused on an organized class for 30 minutes, 4 year old maybe 40 minutes. And so on. And be happy if you get a few minutes more. But don’t pressure too much.

Think of it like this, I have been told if you are using “Time Out” for your child as a discipline. The max for a 3 year old would be 3 minutes, and four year old would be 4 minutes, and so on. So why would you expect you child to stay interested in any activity more than 10 times a “Time Out”

Even when they get older keep everything in perspective, remember when my son was young and I went to a seminar and the Children’s seminar was before the adult seminar. I was getting up set during the adult seminar because my son and few of the other children wasn’t being perfect bystanders on the side lines. Royce Gracie told me “James let the Kid’s Play, This has to be fun for them”

Good lesson to learn.

And I learn them every day.

Try a Free Lesson Today Click Here

 

 

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Why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Is Great For Children

Why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Is Great For Children

The Jiu-Jitsu Times | Why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Is A Great Sport for Unathletic Children.

Today I ran across a good article about why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a good activity for children. Especially the ones who don’t do well at Team Sports and or are not athletic. If you are looking for an activity for your child, this really explains why what we teach is best for your child.

It is really tough for our kids to find a place for them. A good read if you want to learn more about our style.

And if you are an adult and not athletic, you too can get the same benefits from training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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Sometimes as a Coach you have a chance to make a difference in this sport of MMA.

Recently my team went to a smaller MMA event held in Hickory Va. And I had three fighters on this card. I was asked to corner a fighter who was in between teams at this time. Later in the evening we realized that two of the opponents, of our fighter, where not showing. So I asked to move my only fighter to the first fight so we could leave early.

But where did that leave the other fighter who didn’t have a team, that ended up to be the main event, at the end of the card?

Well he came to me and let me know that he really wanted me to stay and corner him. And yes I did give my word to corner him so I and my team stayed for the whole event to help him do as well as he did. I spent about 30 minutes asking about his back ground and what tools he had to go into the cage.

Well he did so well I wanted to give him the props for this fight. Later on other coaches came to me and let me know he was a good fighter on my team. I let them know he wasn’t on my team but he listened so well to my coaching I knew I had made a difference in this match. Wished I had a few more people like him who really wanted to fight.

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Throw Back Thursday. Four years ago today.

Throw Back Thursday.
Four years ago today. One of my students and good and loyal friend stepped in the cage for his First Mixed Martial Arts match. With the confidence only a Team GAMMA member could do. He came home with a win for us. Today he will teach a class in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the first time. So proud of how far he has come in four short years.

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Keeping it REAL in Martial Arts

Training MMA fighters and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners for 14 years I have seen a lot over the years.

Looking back as being the first to bring Mixed Martial Arts and Reality Self-Defense training to Eastern North Carolina. Things has changed but at the same time things has stayed the same too.

You should always be looking for a place that you can train that is always keeping it real. That is always stepping up to the challenge. That is why all of our instructors have had competitive backgrounds in BJJ events and a lot of times Mixed Martial Arts events. But at the same time, I teach Grace Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as a base for self-defense. You can visit the Martial Arts Rochester MN if you’re looking for the best martial arts school.

I have seen over the years, where someone has only trained for the sport part of Jiu-Jitsu, and have done really well in those type of formats. But have had more problems converting over to other sports like Mixed Martial Arts.

People are more likely to say it is the Gi training that makes that happen, I say not. If you are always keeping in your mind while you are training “what if he started punching me? what if this was on the streets, or in a cage and I have to worry about his elbows?’ then your style of Jiu-Jitsu will be properly adjusted. Then you will have less of a problem converting your entry into other sports like Mixed Martial Arts. Incorporating plant protein powder into your routine can support muscle recovery and overall performance, ensuring you’re prepared for the physical demands of various combat sports.

Just like Rickson Gracie Stated in the documentary Choke. “ I  believe that Jiu-Jitsu is a self-defense art….. To keep believing in what I teach and what I share with my students, to trust in my own words I must put myself available for any type of competition.”

Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was never meant to be a sport as much as it was, the sport of Mixed Martial Arts was developed  to show it’s strengths and also show it’s weaknesses, but as with all LIVE martial arts, it is always adapting to the situation.

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Getting Back Up When You Get Knocked Down.

When you put yourself out there in anything, you have to be willing to take the lumps and realize you can and will lose.

Two of my coaches recently competed in Mixed Martial Arts. And I am not making excuses they stepped up to the challenge and came up short, against a really good team and good friends of ours. 

Well shortly after their loss in the cage you can see them back in the gym working on their striking.

“Champions Always Get Back Up!!!”

Now they are getting ready for their next match in Elizabeth City NC. Putting in the hard work to bring home the win for Team Gamma.

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