While JoJo and I were discussing the confusion about how the ECU family should register for tournaments (ECUBJJ), JoJo also mentioned how he would like to see every ECU student get approval from their instructor before entering competition.
“I’d like for every student to get approval from their instructor before they compete. Only their instructor knows if they’ve been training enough to compete without getting hurt.”
ECU’s exponential growth has created a bit of confusion. What started out as fifteen students at the North White Plains location in late 2009 has grown into a three school family with over 150 students.
When entering a competition, many students wonder what academy they should put on their entry form. Some choose, “ECUQueens”, others ”ECUFairfield”, some might even choose “East Coast United”. JoJo was understandably dismayed by this confusion.
All ECU students, no matter where they train, should be listing their affiliation as ECUBJJ.
BTW: The ECU family continues to grow. Leg-lock expert Tito Hartz will soon be opening ECU Bronx.
JT certainly did.
After a quick, but intense warm-up we did numerous rounds of grip-fighting, which is always intense. While many of us were already breathing heavily, the night was just starting.
Then it was time for “Beat Downs”. While I’m not going to go into any details, let’s just say that Beat Downs are probably the most intense drills I’ve seen in my five years of BJJ. JT, a world-class competitor, considers them so important that he does them several times a day when he’s getting ready for a competition.
Even though JT is in Abu Dhabi for the next two weeks, the Beat Downs did not end. At last night’s competition team class, JoJo brought them back. For well over an hour, ECU student after ECU student, finally ending with what ECU Fairfield co-founder Joe Oppedisano called a three-hour workout in 8 minutes.
If you want to learn more about Beat Downs you’ll have to visit ECU.
After many a hard-fought battle, ECU’s “A-Team” was finally crowned.
Heavyweight – Andrew Lobsenz
Light – Heavyweight – Jeff Schneider
Middleweight – Alex Nachaev
Welterweight – Brian Kim
Lightweight – Tom Waldren
Congratulations to everyone who competed, and I hope everyone enjoyed the post-tourney BBQ.
Since I had arrived on the early side, the White Belt/Blue Belt class was still in full swing. When I stepped inside, I saw approximately, thirty people on the mats. Seminar Numbers!
As the Purple+ crew arrived, it became apparent that we were looking at a record night. So, of course we took a few pictures, even though several of the Purple+ students were still changing, and one was taking the pictures, ECU now has more Purple+ Belts than it had students on opening night.
Despite missing a few people, we hit a record. I think it says a ton about Jo-Jo, ECU’s other instructors, and ECU’s students that we’re in danger of outgrowing our facility in just a year-and-a-half.
While this intensity undoubtedly helps our team grow, most ECU members are not professional fighters. We’re pharmacists, contractors, lawyers, personal trainers, business owners, etc. The ECU family basically covers the entire spectrum. While what we do when we’re not on the mats might be different, we all have one thing in common – we’d like to come home from class healthy.
As students, we’re responsible for the safety of our training partners. As much fun as it is to get a submission, we all need to remember that we’re training with teammates.
One of my biggest problems, and I’m sure I’m not alone, is that I always worry about “What Could Go Wrong?” I’ll pass on submission, and/or escape opportunities solely because I think about what will happen if I don’t.
I grow my game the most on those rare occasions, when I throw aside my fears in class. I once dared to spin for a knee-bar against a more experienced student. It was (for me anyway) a high risk/high reward technique, but I succeeded.
Later I was talking with ECU Brown Belt, and leg lock expert Tito Hartz. I said to Tito, “I don’t know why I don’t do that more.”
Tito replied, “I don’t know why you don’t do a lot of things.”
After thinking about it, I realized why I don’t do “a lot of things” – I’m scared. I always see the worst-case scenario. I don’t see the submission or the escape, I see myself losing a position, putting myself in danger or getting submitted.
When I spoke to JoJo about this, his first response was, “You can’t win the lottery if you don’t play. It only costs a dollar, but you might get rich.”
While this may seem simplistic at first glance, it actually makes a lot of sense. When we roll in class, we need to try new things. The rewards are far greater than the risks.
