Holiday Closure: All Easton Schools Closed Dec.14 & morning classes cancelled Dec.15

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July 29, 2014

Easton BJJ Littleton Kids Medal at Worlds

Brian Carlsen

Easton BJJ Littleton Kids Medal at Worlds

kidsThe Holly St. Grinders (a nickname the kids came up with) returned to the Kids Worlds BJJ tournament in Southern California once again this year. This was our third trip out for this tournament, and there seemed to be a lot at stake before we even left. For instance, one of our kids was returning after winning both the gi and no-gi for the past two years running. I knew this had to be a big source of pressure for him because the competition gets remarkably better at each level. Others were told barely a week before the tournament that they would be fighting in higher belt or weight classes due to the lack of competitors in their typical weight class.  Some were stressed, while some others didn’t really seem too concerned by it.
They all showed up in such a big way, though! At the end of the tournament, each one of the nine kids I had taken out with me medaled on both days. The first day was the gi divisions, and boy did we clean up! We had six of the nine win gold, with two receiving silver, and one bronze. On the second day, which was no-gi, we still were able to bring home three gold medals, three silvers, and three bronze medals.
The MVP was Avery Harter for getting double gold. She also submitted each of her opponents with an armbar that she has worked on so hard lately, and had the best comeback victory as well. In her final no-gi match, she was down by a bunch of points against a really tough girl who was a belt above her, and with 25 seconds left, threw up the Hail Mary armbar and nailed it!
As usual, the best part was the trip! The amount of bonding that goes on is unmeasurable! It’s one thing to train at the academy, then go home afterwards, but it is completely different when the kids are on these trips spending time together off of the mat. They really get a chance to get to know each other, and the parents do the same. This is part of the reason that we have such a tight-knit competition team…it really is family!

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