More than a curriculum of techniques and strategies, our schools are made up of people who inspire us, encourage us and motivate us to keep growing into our best selves.
Last fall, we released our first Faces of Easton series where we featured some of the people in all of our everyday lives, sharing their challenges and transformations along the way. This time, we highlight those who’ve found their way to the competition mats.
Twice a year, the Easton Open gives us the opportunity to test ourselves in a pressured situation while still within the safety of our community. Though it gives us a taste of competition (and training for competition), you don’t have to be a pro to participate, and we encourage everyone to give it a shot at least once.
The people we see on these mats range from kids to moms and dads – and everyone in between. Some are trained athletes with tons of experience competing while others may be trying it for the first time.
Their stories are all valuable, however, as each person finds something unique within the walls of the competition experience.
[What We Mean When We Say Fight Camp]
Luciano D’Alessandro, Muay Thai Blue Shirt, 3.5 Years
Coach at Easton Longmont
The competition experience has given me an anchor in life — something difficult that gives me confidence in the rest of my life. If I can train hard for 6 weeks, step into the ring with someone trying to beat the shit out of me and still execute and perform, the rest of life feels like I’m working on easy mode. Competition also helped me suppress the part of me that thinks I’m a scared little bitch, I’m scared most of fight camp and that fear only gets higher the closer I get to fight day. I’m not scared of getting the shit beat out of me, but I’m scared of making a fool of myself.
The ring and training sessions are microscopes of truth; if my life isn’t in line and I’m not getting my shit done, that’s all exposed on the mats and in the ring. When I step into the ring, a window into my character will be exposed. I’m terrified it’s always going to come up short in front of those I care about. However, I feel like if I voluntarily face that fear, I become stronger as a person, more ready to handle whatever life throws at me.
[Mindfulness and Resilience in Martial Arts]
Martial arts has given me so much, I don’t know where to begin. I joke with my friends that it’s my only personality trait, and that’s not entirely wrong. Physically, martial arts has kept me in unbelievable shape, I can’t remember the last time I felt winded from stairs, and I feel I move more deliberately and gracefully in my day to day. Beyond the physical, it’s given an unwavering confidence that I can handle anything in life given time and discipline. It’s given me a sense of community and friends that I hope will last a lifetime. It’s given me a meaningful answer to the question “What the hell do I do with my life?”
When I’m training, everything else in the world seems meaningless. I can just focus on what’s going on right in front of me, and I feel cleansed, like a remedy for the mental illness the rest of the world imposes. It’s my favorite type of medicine.
Krystal Hickman, Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt, 3 Years
Student at Easton Denver
Competing gives me tangible goals. I can test my Jiu Jitsu skills and challenge myself mentally, at a specific time and place. I love the process of preparation before and analyzing after. Win or lose, I always want to do it again.
I love the way martial arts allows me to connect with people, especially with my kids. Jiu Jitsu has given us a shared experience to enjoy, grow and relate to each other.
[Part 3: A Family That Trains Together Slays Together]
Khalil Martinez, Jiu Jitsu [3-Stripe] White Belt, 1 Year
Student at Easton Lowry
The competition experience has given an even bigger, striving passion to pursue my dreams, helping me become a better student and overall better game player of the sport of Jiu Jitsu.
Martial arts have improved my life tremendously with my discipline, determination and how I go about the different obstacles of everyday life.
Evan Haynor-Smith, Jiu Jitsu [4-Stripe] White Belt, 1.5 Years
Student at Easton Centennial
Competition experience has given me a lot of perspective on my character. As someone who never competed in anything before, and had never been in any kind of fight, it showed me that I can push through the fear and doubt that has always kind of plagued me. It’s still scary for me, but I know with every competition I do, I’ll discover more about myself — and that’s the most valuable aspect of competition for me. It’s helped me gain confidence I didn’t have before.
Martial arts has given me a sense of community that I’ve never felt; there are so many people at Easton that I look up to and respect for their mindsets, experience, and skills in the martial arts realm. It has given me a path for self improvement, and constant purpose for improving my mind and my body.
[Community: The Heartbeat of Easton Training Center]
Marcelo Reyes, Muay Thai Blue Shirt, 2 Years
Student at Easton Longmont
Martial arts gave me direction in life when I couldn’t find it anywhere else. Competition has taught me how to stay focused and calm under pressure as well as how to take on stressful situations. It also taught me how to put all my focus and energy on something for a long time.
[Creating Space in the Face of Pressure]
Nate Cooper, Muay Thai Blue Shirt, 1 Year 9 Months
Student at Easton Boulder
Martial arts gives me balance, and that balance is key in every aspect of life. You show up and crush your rounds in sparring and go home feeling like a king. A few days later, someone capitalizes on a weakness of yours and you go home feeling like a failure. The constant oscillation between humble and confident is a beautiful thing for the ego. There is something to learn from both mental states.
The competition experience allowed me to showcase what I have learned physically, mentally, and emotionally while in a state of high intensity. Training works. Most importantly, it showed me that even a highly individual sport like Muay Thai requires immense trust in teammates and coaches. If you put in the work, trust in the process, and trust the team, everything will be okay.
[All About Balance: Training, Recovery and Life]
Salina Loer, Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt, 2.5 Years
Student of Easton Denver
As someone who has always done team sports, competing has taught me a lot about myself and how to handle the nerves and stress that come with it. I think it helps teach you what you are capable of and how your body reacts in those situations, as well as how what we learn in class translates to competition level.
Having trained at a couple other gyms before I moved to Denver and started at Easton, I can definitely say that martial arts offers a very unique community that blends people of all different backgrounds — which I really appreciate because I’ve been able to learn from all sorts of different people. I also like that I know I can find that community no matter where I may move, even if it is to a completely new state. I also really enjoy the mental aspect that comes with constantly trying to learn new moves and sequences and how to move your body correctly and that has helped to keep me engaged in a way that is hard with other sports.
[How Martial Arts Changed My Life: Confidence + Community]
Cameron Nystrom, Muay Thai Blue Shirt, BJJ [3-stripe] White Belt 3.5 Years
Coach at Easton Longmont
Competition had taught me a lot about discipline and how to learn from mistakes made. Martial arts has changed my life! It’s given everything in my life more purpose — from the way I eat and take care of myself, to how to deal with life events outside of the academy. I can circle everything back to how I train and study martial arts, and apply these concepts to “real life.”
[From Sparring to Scrimmage: The Muay Thai Competition Journey]
Gianna Allen, Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt, 3 Years
Student at Easton Littleton
The competition aspect of Jiu Jitsu has given me an experience like no other. It’s a rush for sure! I think competing in a combat sport is so unique because in my opinion, it’s more so a testament of your mental capabilities and recognizing what’s going on in your brain rather than your skill. Of course you’re still using skill and it’s important to know good technique. But, sometimes it can be hard to execute good technique if your mind is racing a million miles a minute.
Competition has taught me to recognize what my mental state is and to take a deep breath so I can slow my thoughts down and really showcase my skills in the way I want. This has helped me in other aspects of my life as well!
Martial arts has improved my life in that it’s helped me learn more about so many things besides the martial art itself. Preparedness, problem solving, being comfortable in difficult situations, patience, thinking outside the box (there is almost never just one way to do something), discipline, communication, etc — these are all things that I have gotten better at since starting this journey.
It also helps me stay healthy and active! Lastly, I’ve connected with people in meaningful ways through martial arts and have made the best friends ever!! Martial arts has endless things to teach, and I hope I learn all of them!
[Mental Prep + Fortitude: Win Mentally At Your Next Competition]
Aleksey Nikolayev, Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt, 3 Years
Student at Easton Denver
I do other non-competitive martial arts (aikido and iaido) and convinced myself that competition is not needed…. Then I tried to put myself in a competitive state of mind and realized that the prospect of competition was something which I feared, so I decided that it needed work.
I’ve competed in the Easton Open three times now. It feels more normal now; win or lose, there is a lot to learn. I’ve made a few friends along the way and began to understand my body in a way which I didn’t before.
[Advice For Your First Competition]
Aven Coffin, Muay Thai Blue Shirt + Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt, 4 Years
Student at Easton Longmont
Martial arts has made me appreciate the importance of movement in life and how beneficial it is to my mood and overall health. Competing has made me push myself in ways that I otherwise would never have done.
Preparing for a competition or a smoker is the most intense training that I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve still barely scratched the surface of the competition world. Its mentally and physically taxing and sometimes feels a little bit like torture, but the result is always worth it.
