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Our Newest Addition
2018 is off to a great start! We’re excited to announce the newest addition to the Easton family of academies: Easton Training Center – Littleton! We’re slated to launch by early summer, in a 2050 square foot spot in Littleton’s Kipling Marketplace. Further details are TBA, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram! At the helm of this new academy will be a familiar face: Professor Peter Straub, whom many of you already know from his Jiu Jitsu classes in Denver. Peter has been part of the Easton community for many years, and we are so happy and thankful to have him on the team as we embark on this new adventure.
Get to know Peter, and read about his journey so far:
I started training in Boulder in December 2008, at the small academy then known only as Easton Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. At the start, all I wanted was to be an MMA fighter. I wanted to be able defend myself, sure. But beyond that, I wanted to earn the respect of people who had previously bullied me. And I wanted to prevent myself from feeling like that ever again. I wanted to be a champion fighter, black belt in BJJ, and all-around badass.
But Professor Eliot Marshall set a hard rule that I couldn’t start competing in MMA until I reached purple belt. With that goal in mind, I began to spend much of my free time training, and I started to compete in Jiu Jitsu as soon as I was able. I had no way of knowing this then, but I had started down a path that would come to shape not only my lifestyle, but my values and my future.
Choosing My Path
After three years of training, I moved to Denver, where I began training at the small Easton academy there, fondly nicknamed “The Favela” after the makeshift slums of Brazil’s large urban centers. This was before the upgrade to our current 10,000 square-foot Easton Training Center facility in Denver. The Favela was cramped, but the training was great, and the relationships were strong. Some of my fondest memories come from the Favela years. In time, I got my blue belt and began teaching Fundamentals classes, and then in 2013, I reached purple.
Shortly after winning a national BJJ tournament at purple belt, I decided it was time to shift the course of my life. I quit my job at a downtown law firm so I could pursue my dreams in MMA, and began training full time with the pro team. I had nine amateur MMA fights, and in 2015 I made my pro debut. After five pro fights, I suffered some pretty bad concussion symptoms, and decided to focus on coaching and training Jiu Jitsu full time. I got my black belt in December 2017.
Looking back, I probably didn’t enter into my training with the right intentions. I wanted to be able to fight people who picked on me. I wanted to gain people’s respect and admiration. I wanted to avoid feeling like I did growing up. But Jiu Jitsu has a way of giving you what you need rather than what you want. It helped humble me as well as build my confidence, and I’ve become a better person from the experience. I found what I was looking for, but definitely not in the way I anticipated.
Sharing the Love
In the years since I got started, Jiu Jitsu has exploded into a huge sport. With advent of social media and YouTube, you can watch all the best competitors in the major tournaments. They even demonstrate and share most of their techniques online. The ease of access to information has increased the level of competition. If you’re not paying attention, you will quickly be passed by the next generation of enthusiasts. I’m excited and proud to be part of a community that is fostering this growth and development of the sport. And this year, I’m most excited about our expansion with our newest academy: Easton Training Center – Littleton, where I’ll be the General Manager.
The Newest Chapter
Starting this new location is an exciting new chapter in the Easton legacy. I look forward to creating a tight-knit community in Littleton, and building an amazing learning environment like the one I’ve been lucky enough to have. Initially, I’ll be the only Jiu Jitsu instructor, but as we grow we will plan to expand the staff as needed.
We have an amazing instructor training program at Easton, and what sets us apart is the depth of knowledge. We now have over 80 black belts spread between the Easton academies, and each brings their own unique style to the mats. With this huge team and depth of knowledge at our disposal, we will bring in the best staff to continue to grow the Littleton team in all our of programs. The offerings in Littleton will include adults’ and kids’ Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai.
What to Expect from the Littleton Academy
We plan to open this summer, so if you know anyone living in the south Denver or Littleton area, send them my way! We’ll get them set up with some special introductory offers. Personally, I’m excited for the challenge of growing a new school. I’m looking forward to introducing a new group of people to the sport that’s given me so much. Obviously I’ll have the support of the Easton community, and especially the help of Professors Mike Tousignant and Ian Lieberman, but the day-to-day operations and classes will be mainly my responsibility.
I’m so grateful for the awesome environment I had when I first began my training. My goal is to create that kind of environment for as many people as possible. Strong fundamentals mixed with high-level technique, so that both beginners and advanced students can find what they’re looking for. This will be one of our smaller locations, and I look forward to recreating some of what made the Favela years so special to me–personal relationships with everyone and a strong sense of community. Thank you all for your continued support. I can’t wait to see you on the mat at Easton Training Center – Littleton![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”alert-box”]
Interested in joining Easton Training Center – Littleton? Sign up to receive updates on our special introductory offers!
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