Another year in the books, and what a great one we’ve had! We held 17 events, and published 91 blog posts and 11 podcast episodes.
We welcomed our first female GM, Kate Eischen, who now heads Centennial, and most recently welcomed Kyle Write who will take over as Arvada’s new GM. We also moved Easton Littleton to a new location! Our community continues to thrive, and it’s all thanks to all of you and the work you put in – both on and off the mats!
This year, we added Adaptability to our list of Core Values. Our Core Values exemplify what matters most to our school as an organization, and they’re principles that we live and die by. As we shift and adjust to the changes all around us, we want to create space for that growth in every other aspect as well.
Adaptability is critical because it both allows us to thrive in the present by responding effectively to unexpected challenges and also prepares us for future opportunities by fostering resilience and flexibility. It ensures that we stay innovative, open to growth, and ready to tackle whatever comes our way.
Let’s celebrate another great year, team!
February
This February, Professor Jon Thomas, a BJJ Black Belt, 2x IBJJF World Champion and 3x IBJJF Pan Champion taught an exclusive 3-hour seminar in the gi at Easton Denver! Jon’s philosophy comes down to honing the cerebral aspects of Jiu Jitsu as rigorously as the physical, tapping into pattern-recognition and the ability to make good choices at the right moment. Our Denver academy filled with a whopping 97 of you in attendance, from 2-stripe white belts to black belts!
March
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! Easton’s Spring 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 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. And, as we continue to bring more outside academies in, you’ll widen your network of those you know out in the larger martial arts community!
Also in March, the Easton Muay Thai team competed in the Colorado State Tournament at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, CO. The team brought 12 athletes to the tournament, finishing with a 15-2 record and 10 individual champions. Coming home with 17 more bouts of experience, 10 new state champions, the Easton Muay Thai team also scored more team points than any other team with 21! The team was nearly immediately back to work in the training room, with many of those who competed at the state tournament preparing for their next fight. Keep an eye out for Easton Muay Thai athletes competing in the coming months, and come out to support the team if you can.
April
April saw dozens of Easton students compete at the IBJJF Denver Open, a tournament hosted by the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF.) IBJJF is the most prestigious Brazilian Jiu Jitsu organization whose tournaments are considered to be the highest level (IBJJF Worlds, IBJJF Masters, IBJJF Pans, IBJJF Kids Pans, etc.)
Their Open only comes to Colorado once a year, and it’s a big deal. Students have the opportunity to test themselves against the top competitors within Colorado and nearby states, and we put a lot of effort in getting everyone ready to perform so that we can win it!
May
Easton held its first ever Muay Thai sparring and shirt promotion event on May 18th. With over 150 students on the mats, it was amazing to see how much the Muay Thai program has grown throughout the Easton Training Center schools in the past decade. Muay Thai doesn’t traditionally have rankings, but at ETC we’ve developed a ranking system that closely mirrors that of Jiu Jitsu. If you’d like to know more about our shirt system, you can read all about it here.
On May 25th, Easton Training Center held its very first Teen Randori. Inviting teens from all the Easton Jiu Jitsu programs, we had an amazing turnout for the first edition of these events. With plenty of training partners on the mats as well as coaches training with the students, we had an hour of sweaty Jiu Jitsu fun. This first event was such a success that we will be holding regular Teen randoris, alternating the host school each time.
Also in May, Boulder’s Coach Allie Readmond traveled to Patras, Greece to fight at the International Federation of Muay Thai Associations (IFMA). We held a donation-based IFMA seminar on Sunday, May 26th to raise funds for her trip. If you weren’t able to make the seminar, we also accepted donations to help her fight for her dream with all proceeds going towards helping her travel out to Greece.
[Easton’s Allie Readmond: Competing Globally and Representing Women in Muay Thai]
June
Our semi-annual belt promotion ceremony rolled around in June (15th). Although Easton students get promoted year round, these events always end up being something huge and amazing. This summer’s event was no different. With 100s in attendance, we promoted almost 120 new colored belts and added 7 new black belts to our ranks. Five current Easton blackbelts received stripes on their belts. The next promotion will be in the fall. The only way to get to the next step tomorrow is to put in the work today.
On Saturday, June 15th, Easton Tigers Muay Thai hosted a sparring day at ETC Boulder! The event, open to kids aged 7 and up with a Yellow Belt or coach approval, brought dozens of students to the mats from all eight of our academies. Holding all-Easton, communal events like this for adults and kids is a huge part of remaining in alignment with one another as one Team Easton. Our kids never cease to amaze us with their dedication and spirit! Keep your eyes out for more days like this in the future, full of exciting and challenging sparring rounds with all of your Easton teammates and friends!
This June, we also held our first ever youth seminar on the 30th! Easton student Vesper Ortega was invited to compete at the ADCC World Championship! Vesper was one of few youth Jiu Jitsu grapplers invited to this exclusive event, and Easton held a seminar taught by Ms. Vesper herself to raise funds for her trip. Costs were donation-based starting at $15 so that as many people had the opportunity to attend as possible. All the proceeds went towards helping Vesper travel to ADCC and her fight for her dream!
July
Easton Littleton moved and expanded to a new address of 5066 S. Wadsworth Blvd, Unit 117, celebrating its grand opening on July 1st. To say we’re excited about our new Easton Littleton location would be an understatement. The safe choice would’ve been to renew the lease and keep operating as they were – successful, profitable, and with predictable results. Safe, however, doesn’t always mean growth. The new location has three times the space of the one in Kipling Marketplace, with new schedules, new classes, new departments and more people managing it all. Not only is the building bigger and better, but we get to create space for so many more future martial artists, friends and Easton family!
[Easton Littleton’s GM Nick Mavrick: Redefining What it Means to Be the Best]
Also in July, multiple-time stadium champion in Thailand and European legend, Damien Alamos, visited Colorado and taught a seminar for Easton students on Saturday, July 6th. Damien is a celebrated Muay Thai fighter hailing from France. Known as “Singkhao” or “White Tiger” in Thailand, he has made a significant impact in the world of Muay Thai with his exceptional skills and strategic mind. We were very fortunate to be able to bring his knowledge and experience to our mats in this special, 3-hour seminar!
The IBJJF is the world leader in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, hosting the most prestigious global events. Every year, Team Easton makes the pilgrimage to test our skills against many of the world’s most talented and dedicated youth Jiu-Jitsu competitors! It is a unique three-day event of camaraderie, family, and competition, and this year our kids took to Florida to represent Team Easton from July 26th to the 28th. As always, it was an incredible experience with excellent Jiu Jitsu, sportsmanship and team bonding!
August
The first All-Easton Women’s BJJ Randori happened on August 3rd, and we couldn’t be more happy with the turnout. Easton Littleton looked incredible with its amazing new space, and every school had students on the mats. As an academy, we learned a ton from this event and the next one will be even better! We’d like to give a huge shout out to Professor Nick and Coach Jen and all the Littleton crew for facilitating the space, and shout out to Professor Beth Huddleston! We can’t wait for the next one.
August was a big month for the women of Easton! The Easton Muay Thai women showed out in full force for the 2nd All-Easton Women’s sparring event at Easton Training Center – Boulder on August 10th. 40+ women showed up on a hot Saturday afternoon in August to test their skills against ladies from all the Easton schools. While the spirit of these events is light hearted, that didn’t stop everyone from putting on a strong pace and pressure to test one another. Everyone had fun, but most importantly everyone got better from the session.
September
This September, we welcomed our very first female GM to the ranks – Kate Eischen of Centennial! Kate Eischen, a Muay Thai brown shirt and mom, started at Easton in 2013 and has gone through every rank of leadership in her community, from kickboxing coach to kids coach to Kids Department Head to the Department Head of Muay Thai. Kate’s humility and laid back attitude allows her to move wisely through any circumstances life throws her way and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her on board as Centennial’s new GM!
[Centennial’s New GM, Kate Eischen: Stepping Into Your Power]
We’re thrilled to have launched September with a seminar taught by Muay Thai legend, fighter and coach Addy Rentap on! Addy is head trainer for ONE phenom Johan “JoJo” Ghazali, as well as an accomplished professional fighter in the Thai Stadiums with 100+ fights. He’s also a former Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Stadium Top 10. We had a nearly sold-out seminar with 40 students in attendance and shared so much knowledge inside of two hours of teaching ring-tested Muay Thai techniques and training.
Also in September, we had the honor of hosting a seminar for our Jiu Jitsu students with Luke Griffith, IBJJF World Champion and 2024 ADCC Silver Medalist! For two hours on September 8th, Luke taught us aspects of the system and techniques he and the New Wave team used to dominate at the most recent ADCC.
October
This past October 19th and 20th at the South Suburban Sports Complex in Littleton, Colorado, we had over 500 competitors on the mats for our fifth official Easton Open. After over 20 years in action, our semi-annual tournament has become a massive event focused on team spirit, camaraderie and building up everyone involved. As first-time and returning competitors hit the mats, with 433 Jiu Jitsu students competing and over 100 Muay Thai competitors, everyone came together in a space of mutual respect and community, after weeks and months of training together, sparring and supporting one another. We also had students from other academies joining us, and we hope to continue this inclusive tradition!
December
We ended the year with our second Women’s BJJ Randori on December 7th, hosted at Easton Denver by Professor Amy Fidelis! Creating a safe space for women in martial arts is a priority at Easton, and we love that these events have continued to bring such a huge turnout of ladies from all of our academies. While training with all shapes and sizes is important for self-defense, especially men, developing a strong women’s community can help keep women on the mats and push past the discomforts and challenges that BJJ can bring!
