When you walk into the school this week you will see some small changes at our lobby and dojo areas. We have now a much bigger changing room for the guys and the tables are repositioned to facilitate the increasing flow of people from the lobby to the dojo area.
One of the things you’ll notice is a big sign saying “Respecting the Dojo”. Take some time to read it sinse following those recommendations are really important for the learning of students in class.
Also, take some time to look at the photo expo above the benches. You’ll be impressed to see so many great shots from ous students in action. Thanks Mike Pesh and Regis Chen - our photographers, for capturing so many great moments through your amazing lenses.
We would like to thank all GB San Clemente assistant instructors and specially Chris, Pete, Michael for all your help.
Our new schedule is effective on January 12th. All classes remain the same with the exception of the Kids and Juniors. We had to make some small changes on timing to increase the duration of both classes from 50 minutes to 1 hour.
So here is the new timing:
Kids (3-6yrs): Mondays and Wednesdays from 4.30 to 5.30pm
Juniors (7-11yrs): Mondays and Wednesdays from 5.30 to 6.30pm
Everything else stays the same.
Suggestions on the schedule are always welcome and can be sent to info@graciebarrasanclemente.com
The 2009 BJJ Competition season has started. There lots of tournaments coming and we are all very excited to participate by watching, coaching, supporting, and of course, competing.
Something very special will make a difference in 2009 and beyond: the Gracie Barra San Clemente Competition Team!
The initiative will establish a training platform that will allow students to prepare even better for the upcoming tournaments. All students 3 stripes and up are welcome to participate on competition classes, but only those that are part of the competition team and, as such, are in compliance with its requirements will be able to represent Gracie Barra in tournaments.
Our dear student and assistant instructor David Acosta will be the GBSC Competition Team Captain. As such, he will coordinate the Team and among other things will keep everyone informed about all activities such as competition classes, conditioning classes, tournaments, and more.
GBSC Kids will be part of the competition team too! They have to be White Belt 3 stripes and up and show good behavior through discipline, focus, and commitment.
We will have 2 competition classes in January at the school. On the next Sundays (Jan 11th and 18th) from 11am to 1pm professor Flavio will be coaching and training us for the upcoming tournaments. Don’t miss it! These classes are a very special opportunity to bring your game to the next level and most important: they are so much fun!
Remember, our Head Quarter GB America in Irvine is also offering competition classes on Mondays and Wednesday at 8am. If you are available you should go. Training there is awesome!
From Jan 4th to Jan 11th, GB San Clemente will be on Buddy week! It means all our friends who need that extra push to come and make GB and BJJ part of their lives can now get one week of free lessons.
There are so many people around us who would benefit a lot from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Get them to start 09 in a very healthy way!
If you are bringing a friend please call Miss. Angy at (949) 7694663 so we can be ready to welcome him or her on the best manner.
When approaching the end of the year, we all get introspective. Thoughts related to accomplishments and self renewal flood our minds, while we review the goods and bads of 2008.
When reviewing your life in 2008, think about how much time and energy you have invested in your physical well being. Are you taking care of your body the way you should? Most of us are not. Under the gigantic pressure of our daily routines, we end up sacrificing very important things like investing in our physical, emotional, and mental welness, and focus on urgent things we need to get done.
Don’t let it happen in 2009. When making your new years resolution commit your hart, mind, and your schedule to your Jiu-Jitsu; a great hobby that motivates you not just because it brings results, but first and foremost because you love each and every minute of the practice. Read about BJJ. Dream about it. Live it!
There are many physical activities that provide this type of experience. But BJJ is something special and those who’ve tried know it. Once you start, you will never want to stop it. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu puts you in shape, but it also challenges your mind as much as a chess game . It gets you so entertained during the practice, that you don’t realize you are exercising and, at the end of the the class, you probably burned more then a 1000 calories. After practice, you go home with a great filling and want to eat well and sleep early because you feel like coming back for more the day after. And you want to recover so you can perform better. Students dream about techniques and can barely wait until the next class to solve some doubts with the instructors.
Leave your life through Jiu-Jitsu in 2009 and beyond. Give yourself an opportunity. Eating well, sleeping better, and being in a good shape, you will be much more prepared to achieve whatever you want in the year to come.
We are working hard to finish some light remodeling at the school this week. Classes will resume this Saturday with our regular schedule: Advanced Kids Class 9am, Fundamentals 10am, BJJ No Gi/BJJ for MMA 11am, and Instructors Classes 12:45pm.
Take a look also on the new LIMITED WHITE SIGNATURE Gi ( light weight limited edition training uniform signed by Master Carlos Gracie Jr).To buy it: CLICK HERE! .
The GB EMBROIDERED HAT IN NEW COLORS!
To buy it: CLICK HERE!
One more year is about to be over and with 2008 a lot of good memories will stay with us for the rest of our lifes. The last B in BJJ of the year is bringing to you a lot of cool staff, starting from some really interesting brazilian traditions to make sure that you will start the new year the best way as possible.
Brazilian celebrations are a clear reflection of its history, culture and the origins of its people from Portugal, Africa and South America.
New Year’s Eve is marked by festive Festa de Iemanjá held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Crowds head to the beaches to offer flowers and gifts to Iemanjá, the Goddess of the Water in the Brazilian Umbanda religion. The Copacabana beach is flocked with millions of people who come to visualize the colorful candles floating on sea.
Véspera de Ano Novo or the New Year’s Eve is the most important day for the people of Brazil. The best New Year celebrations can be seen in on of the most specials cities of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. New Year celebrations are marked with numerous fireworks and crackers. Musical shows, concerts and other dance performances are the highlights of New Year celebrations in Brazil. The world famous Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro is overcrowded with people on the New Year’s Eve.
Brazilians have many traditions for New Year’s Eve. Each state and region have its own, but many are followed in the entire country. Everybody does these little things to ask for happiness, prosperity, health, love and protection for the next year.
Let me share some of them with you, and maybe you’ll try one or two. ‘Cause, attracting a little good luck wouldn’t hurt, would it?
- Go to the beach and jump over seven little waves, at midnight, making seven wishes while you jump;
- Wear white clothes, as a symbol of Light, Purity and Kindness;
- Wear new underwear. The color varies according to your goals - white for peace, pink for love, yellow for prosperity, green for harmony;
- Eat a pomegranate (symbol of prosperity and wealth) at midnight. Take 7 seeds out of it and keep them on your wallet until the next New Year’s Eve. This assures you’ll always have money on your wallet.
- On New Year’s Eve (as in Christmas Eve), it’s traditional to have a late dinner, around 11:00 PM. We call it “New Year’s Supper” - Ceia de Ano-Novo - and it’s common to eat lentils as a side dish, to assure prosperity and abundance for the New Year.
- Keeping the cork of the bottle of champagne (that’s usually open by midnight) brings good luck for the keeper.
So, which one of those are you going to try?
Also we would like to celebrate some really special accomplishments of the year 2008:
- Master Carlos Gracie Jr. was promoted to the Red and Black Belt
- The new location for the H Q in Irvine
- All the schools using the same Fundamentals Curriculum
- GB 3rd Place at the Master & Senior World NO Gi Championship
- GB 1st Place ate the Female World NO Gi Championship
- Our competitors Gold Medalists at the World Championship 2008:
Rikio Ahara; Rod Roberts; Thomasz Kaczmarek; Yoshi Yamaguchi; Lucas Rocha; Tammy Griego; Kayron Gracie; Don Ortega; Samuel Braga; Roger Gracie; Bianca Barreto; Kyra Gracie; Ana Laura Cordeiro; Eliaz Ramirez; Michael Dykes; Dan Marker; Richard Timm; Scott Carr; Roberto Barros; Tracy Thompson; Pedro Rodrigues; Tom Reusing; Roberto Alencar; Marcelo Santos; Vinicius Magalhaes; Bianca Barreto.
All the reasons above are very important but the most important reason for us to cellebrate is to be a Gracie Barra Students. To be able to train our body, mind and spirit everyday when we go to the academy, to meet and make friends with so many diferent people and to build a strong family.
“A Dojo is a miniature cosmos where we make contact with ourselves - our fears, anxieties, and habits. It is an arena of confined conflict where we confront an opponent who is not an opponent but rather a partner who helps us understand ourselves more fully.
It is a place where we can learn a great deal in a short time about we are and how we react in the world. The conflicts that take place inside the Dojo help us handle conflicts that take place outside.
The total concentration and discipline requires to study martial arts carries over to daily life. The activity in the Dojo calls on us to constantly attempt new things, so it is also a source of learning - in Zen terminology, a source of enlightenment”.
Joe Hyams
This is our Special Video for the end of the year!! I hope that you enjoy!
Comments(1)
