What’s new in Denver?
The Denver academy is introducing a Jiu Jitsu Enrichment Program! What does this mean? For newer members that are 1-stripe to 4-stripe white belts, the Denver academy is offering FREE group private lessons in 8-week modules. Interested students will be assigned an instructor based on availability.
The curriculum of the lessons will mirror that of the academy-wide curriculum for regular Fundamental and Intermediate classes. The difference will be the format: more casual, more specific and personalized instruction, and an open Q&A for more in-depth understanding of both specific techniques and positions.
This programmed is designed for 2 things. It is to help students achieve their Blue Belts in the shortest possible period of time, but also to help newer students establish their place in the Easton community. Developing great martial artists is certainly a primary goal of Easton Training Centers, but developing a nurturing and accepting culture of inclusion and mutual benefit is just as important. That’s why each module will also include a big group meal at a local restaurant.
Jiu Jitsu is hard, gang. But it is also supposed to be fun. Going through the grind and coming out the other side a better human is an amazing experience, but doing it with people you care about is infinitely better!
If you are interested in the Enrichment Program, stop by the front desk next time you are at the academy and ask about availability. Slots are filling up fast, but this looks like it will be a permanent perk of membership so if you don’t get on the first wave, another will be just 8 weeks behind it!
Instructor Highlight
George Moriarty
Ht.: 5’ 6” Wt.: 130 lb
Age: 27 Years training: 11 Current Rank: Brown Belt
Where can you find George on the Schedule?
“You can find me training and teaching with the werewolf gang in the wee morning hours with the moon.” Translation: George teaches the 6:30 AM classes on Monday and Wednesday at the Denver academy.
Why do you love teaching Jiu Jitsu?
“Teaching jiu jitsu allows me to express my love for strategy, systems, philosophy, and all things grappling. It is truly a mental tool kit that I get to use and share every day that allows me to help improve my life and the lives of others.”
What are your personal jiu jitsu goals?
“My personal goals are to develop a way of life that allows me to be successful in all territories I choose to explore, be brave in the choice of all paths I set foot, share this system with as many as I am able, and practice martial arts for the rest of my days.”
Competition News
Saturday May 11th was the Fight 2 Win 11th Annual State Championships. The Easton Academies fielded an army, as usual and the results were strong. Easton Academies took 3 of the top 9 spots in all three categories. In the Team Rankings: Centennial took 1st, Denver took 5th, and Boulder took 8th. In the Adult divisions: Centennial took 1st, Denver took 3rd, and Boulder took 9th. In the Kids divisions: Centennial took 2nd, Arvada took 6th, and Boulder took 8th place.
Make sure to congratulate all of the competitors who put it on the line this past weekend! It takes a lot of courage to get out there and test your skills against other game competitors.
Coming up on the competition schedule is Denver IBJJF Open on May 18th.
Nutrition Tip of the Month
Sugar is a problem, gang. While small amounts of naturally-occuring sugars can be found in the natural world of whole foods (mostly in fruits and veggies), refined sugars and engineered sweeteners like High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is not that much different from the white powdery stuff) should be avoided as a regular part of the diet.
Sugar or sucrose is made of one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule (in equal parts) smooshed together to form a disaccharide. High fructose corn syrup is composed of the same molecules in only slightly different ratios. In the case of HFCS, however, it is just a slurry of unattached single glucose and single fructose molecules.
The biggest issue with a diet that includes significant amounts of refined sugar (refined grain products, too) is that it keeps you in a high-insulin state much of the time. Insulin blocks lipolysis (fat burning) and your Counter-Regulatory Hormones, so eating even smaller amounts of sugar throughout the day…and throughout your life…keeps you in a state of fat accumulation.
What are some of the other effects of sugar consumption?
- Reduced immune system function
- Systemic inflammation
- Gout
- Elevated triglycerides
- Insulin resistance
- Digestive issues including dysbiosis, SIBO, Candida overgrowth
- Tumor cell proliferation
- Interference with metabolic hormones (Leptin and Ghrelin) which drives over-consumption
“Fine. I’ll just use
artificial sweeteners.”
I hate to break it to you, but for most
people artificial sweeteners-while not having much effect on blood
glucose-still raise insulin. It is called the Cephalic Phase Insulin Response. This means that when the brain
senses sweet, insulin is released to prepare for the perceived calorie influx.
What this often means is that the consumer ends up in a state of hypoglycemia
(low blood sugar) because of the insulin response and is then forced to eat something
sweet or carby to correct the dip in blood sugar. This leads to, again,
overconsumption and weight gain.
Does this mean you can never eat ice cream again?
Nope. In the context of whole foods diet, a little treat now and again isn’t going to kill anybody. Afterall, life is too short to never eat ice cream. As long as we treat it for what it is-an occasional indulgence-a little sweet reward once in awhile can be part of a balanced life!
