ETC Denver March Newsletter
Nick Mavrick.
The month of March has seen a few changes at Easton Training Center Denver. Look around and you will see some aesthetic changes and some functional changes as well. It’s not just the re-purposed wood behind the front desk or the new Black Belt wall as you ascend the ramp to the training spaces. ETC Denver Brown Belt and maintenance workhorse Matt Horgan and his team (Mark Pierce, Rick Horowitz, and Rob Olivas) installed an extra 360 square feet of mat space outside of the fence for the expanding Muay Thai 
program as well as auxiliary jiu jitsu space! Make sure that you thank the guys when you see them around the academy.
New Schedule
Speaking of new: the Denver academy has implemented a new schedule! We have added a few classes to the schedule and standardized some things, too. Make sure that you stop by the front desk to get a copy or go to  the online schedule and check it out. Be sure not to miss your favorite class because it has moved to a different slot on the docket!
Kids Competition Class with Coach Nick
Speaking of the new schedule: Denver Kids Coach Nick Gamez has added an invite-only intermediate kids class on Wednesdays at 5 pm. This is for those kids who are interested in competition; who show up, put their heads down and do the work! If your child has not yet received an invite to the class, let them know that all it takes is a great attitude and show that they are grasping the techniques, and a rank of at least Gray/White Belt. When I spoke with Coach Nick, he made if clear that a kid’s access to the class could be revoked if that kid isn’t demonstrating the effort and attitude that he needs to see. So remind your child that the invite is not the destination, merely another step in their journey!
A horse with stripes is a zebra…a belt with stripes is still a belt, but cooler…
Remember stripes on colored belts? Well, they’re back! Starting in March, we have returned
to the IBJJF standards of promoting within belt levels. What does this mean? It means that when you cross certain time-related and attendance-related thresholds, you will get a stripe on your belt. It’s just like when you passed through the phases of White Belt. Members will be awarded the appropriate number of stripes that should currently be on their belt (Blue through Brown). Have patience, though! There are a lot of teammates to award stripes to, you’re all on our radar!
In-House Competition…
And, of course, ETC Denver wants to remind you that there is another in-house tournament coming up (April 20th). There will be some minor changes to the next couple of in-house events. Because some of our smaller academies have fewer staff at the events, to be fair to everyone, there will be no coaches for competitors this time around. In the case of the kids, the referees will be doing a little bit of coaching of both competitors. Remember parents and competitors: in-house tournaments are for fun. They are for getting inexperienced competitors to get their feet wet in a friendly environment. This isn’t ADCC qualifiers. These events are for getting to know teammates and friends that we might not get to hang out with as often as we would like, so just come on down to the academy, have a bite to eat and share some laughs with friends! If you are interested in volunteering to help put on a great event, contact Ian Lieberman or Chris Mierzwiak for details.
