Day 1 - Americana

Excited to begin!

Today was the first day of bettering ourselves through martial arts, and like with anything, we had to start with the background. We began by splitting into groups to learn about and share back information relating to the histories, philosophies, and famous figures of both Jiu Jitsu, and Kickboxing. We also got to research some fighters' signature moves, (which we will definitely master by the time this course is over). I studied Otavio Souza who is a famous fighter who joined Gracie Barra, a Brazilian jiu jitsu association, and won many awards, including being a 3 time black belt Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion. He even landed a job teaching a Gracie Barra school in California but unfortunately he was literally "too cool for school" and got fired because he was always on the road and didn't have enough time to teach. 

By: Tyler

Learning stick fighting moves 


In the afternoon we went to the jiu jitsu gym to start the physical side of this A-Term. Once we got there everyone was introduced and handed their boxing gloves. The first part of the kickboxing class was taught by Coach Scott who is the head coach at the gym and owner. He taught us how to jab and cross. Once everyone kind of got it down, Coach Manny stepped in and taught us a few combinations as well as the hook. Everyone was paired up and practiced the combinations on pads. It took a bit for most to get used to using the pads and punching but eventually everyone started looking less like robots. After boxing we learned how to fight with sticks. For the people at home they learned how to turn a spatula into a weapon. It was a short lesson and then Coach Scott talked about the importance of mastery and self esteem. It was very fancy and showed us the mental work that went into learning martial arts. Second half of the class we learned some jiu jitsu. We learned how to tackle and even do a submission called the Americana. After drilling that move for class, we finished class and bowed out. It was a very interesting experience and I can't wait to learn more. 


By: Emory

Pics and Captions: Luke
Learning different punches

Watching Jiu Jitsu demonstrations


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