When two seemingly opposing energies work together, the result can surpass either expectation. 

Despite the discord within a community that competition might imply, the synergy generated from competitors preparing, training and going through rigorous programs like Fight Camp together shifts that narrative.

This March’s Easton Open at the Blue Sports Stable in Superior, Colorado was the 4th one we held since its 2022 inception. We had 460 BJJ competitors, 100 Muay Thai competitors and 135 volunteers!

We love these events because along with uniting all the academies as one Easton, they provide a valuable stepping stone to other competitions like state tournaments, where you’re up against a bunch of people you don’t know from other schools. 

Unlike those tournaments, the Easton Open takes place in a controlled environment, competing against others from Easton’s nine schools. You may not know your opponents personally, but you know they’ve been raised by the same curriculum, bar of standards and code of conduct as you. 

Easton’s Winter 2024 Open was also the first time we invited another Muay Thai school! 29 Degrees joined us from Wheat Ridge, along with our sister school and affiliate McMahon Training Center in Fort Collins.

We’re always seeking new opportunities to grow and expand our knowledge of martial arts. One of the best ways to do that (and why we hold these events) is to train with new people. The Open still brings the same safe, controlled environment to your competition simulation experience, but now with added athletes to help improve your game!

[Jon Thomas BJJ Seminar Recap]

Community in all aspects of competition

Despite the fact that competition is the closest you can get to real self defense, all aspects of competition bring out community. For starters, you have to rely on everyone around to help you train. 

As a fighter, you’re going to be training with a lot of people who aren’t fighters. You develop unique bonds through trusting them, and they get to take part in your work, helping you get ready. 

Whether you’re helping your best friends or your training partners get ready, it’s not just the time and physical work you put in helping them. It’s also how emotionally invested you get. Most people get more nervous watching their friends or students compete than when they do themselves.

[Advice For Your First Competition]

If you’re also competing, you’re working with other competitors to get ready and endure the same grueling experience. Shared time in the trenches always brings us closer together and the way martial artists can turn on the defense on the mats and then hug it out afterwards stands testament to that!

Second, when you get to comp day – no matter who you’re competing against, there’s the added element of the event. The cheering, the buzzer, the whole event, compounded into the experience of competing. After sharing so much, you now get to experience your friends and training partners standing on the other side as spectators as you exhibit your skills.

The sense of community that emerges when all nine academies plus two more come together in support of one another and the martial arts we love is palpable. 

[The People You Train With Become The People You Show Up For]

Improving our self-defense skills together

One of the main reasons we hold these events is to provide students with a true simulation of real self defense. Class time is invaluable to learning, but these moments let you put what you know to the test.

You could go your entire life without competing and still become Black Belt or hold a Black Shirt in Muay Thai, but we don’t necessarily advise that. 

For some people just showing up to class is enough of a push outside of their comfort zone, but if your goal in learning Muay Thai or Jiu Jitsu is self-defense, competition is the best avenue. 

Competition allows you the experience of the adrenaline dump you’ll get if you ever find yourself in a physical confrontation in the wild, and teaches you how to work with the adrenaline, offering an alternative to the fight-or-flight feeling.

Adrenaline can be a malleable asset when we understand how to approach it, and through providing these fight-simulation events, students can get a feel for how they might react in high-pressure situations.

As we continue to expand the Easton Opens to include other schools, we’re excited to give our students not just more people to train with and an expanded mat family, but to create a channel for the highest level martial arts to flow between academies, making all of Colorado’s Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai better.

[3 Tips To Help Your Youth BJJ Athlete Overcome Their Competition Anxiety]