On April 20th 2021, Nick Mavrick received his black belt at Easton Littleton’s first-ever belt promotion ceremony! The energy on the mats was great as Professor Peter and Professor Iain presented Coach Nick (now Professor) with his much-deserved black belt! I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Professor Nick to discuss his journey to Black Belt.
Professor Nick began his BJJ journey back in 2007. He trained at the old academy, affectionately dubbed “the Favela” (a Brazilian shantytown), off of 3rd and Broadway in Denver before the academy moved into the larger Easton Training Center location on Santa Fe Drive. He trained off and on through his white belt to purple belt and began coaching after receiving his purple belt. Not only has he moved up the ladder through belt progression but his involvement with Easton has evolved over the years as well. Now, he is the Adult BJJ Department Head here at Easton Littleton where he develops the adult BJJ curriculum as well as manages and trains the rest of the coaching staff.
His favorite submission at the time of writing this is the Kimura, if you have had the chance to roll with him lately, you know he will find it and catch you almost anywhere. He is also currently working on tightening up his leglocks, so don’t be surprised when he catches you with one of those as well!
I asked Professor Nick what he believes it takes to be successful in BJJ and to earn a black belt and the first thing he said was Consistency. He also believes that it takes a level of self-awareness and knowing that each of our journeys to black belt is our own and not to compare ourselves to others to measure our own self-worth. His ideal student is someone who can come in with a beginner’s mindset and is eager and willing to accept new information.
Let’s all continue to support and learn from Professor Nick as our Littleton location continues to grow! Once again Congratulations Professor for your dedication and commitment to us here at Easton and earning your black belt!
