🚨Ongoing referral promotion: Get a free month added to your membership when your friend and/or family member signs up!
🍉 Community
Our next Mats in the Grass event is on Saturday, June 22nd. Mats in the Grass is our Saturday judo and open mat session, held outside in Jennie Dean Park, Shirlington from 10AM - 1PM. Show off some hip tosses to the neighbors. Flaunt that double leg takedown. Bring your dog(s)/kid(s)/some water. As always, watermelon is provided.
🌀The Latest
Last weekend, Kogaion promoted its first two blue belts. Andrea and Beatrice showed their technical progress through a two hour test of demonstrations and sparring. As white belts, Andrea earned a silver medal at the DC Open of Fall 2018 and Beatrice took home 2 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze medals from multiple local tournaments this year. We're excited to see how far these two girls go.
Check out the highlight reel on our Youtube channel.
🗓 Upcoming
We have our eyes set on two local tournaments. Talk to Victor if you’re interested in signing up.
US Grappling: June 29th
IBJJF DC Open: July 21st
👀 Wolf Watch
In Kogaion's wolf watch, we'll start spotlighting one of athletes and their journey with jiu-jitsu. In this inaugural edition, we're center-staging friend and fighter: Andrea.
I walked into my first BJJ class in March 2018 when I convinced a friend to try a class with me. I had always been curious about martial arts and never knew where to begin, but after I watched a few UFC fights, I was convinced I wanted to start with Jiu Jitsu. Over a year later after many lessons, bruises, and a blue belt, I feel confident that I made the right choice.
It’s a great addition to my exercise regimen, a practical intro to self-defense, and helped me meet new and interesting people from all sorts of backgrounds. My favorite part about BJJ is the challenge of it, finding your physical and mental limits and constantly pushing beyond them. I find this practical both on and off the mats.
When it comes to style, my favorite guard is “de la Riva,” because I like its versatility. As for submissions, I’m a simple person, so I really enjoy a sneaky Ezekiel choke from mount, though arm bars come in at a close second. I’m always looking for new techniques to complement what I know, and it makes my BJJ journey all the more fun and engaging.
Reply (shirlingtonbjj@gmail.com) to tell us what you want to see more here, or if you have any questions about joining us here at Kogaion.
That’s all for now. Happy hunting. 🐺